Inside The NBA crew calls "cap" on Karl-Anthony Towns' claims of making 1500 3s in practice with Kenny Smith's logical explanation
Inside The NBA crew, especially Kenny Smith and Draymond Green, mocked Karl-Anthony Towns after the Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star's latest claims. After going 0 for 8 from 3-point range in Sunday's 116-107 Game 3 loss in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Towns said he was putting up 1500 shots a day.
"I'm putting up to 1500 shots a day," Towns said. "And shot so well all playoffs, confidence extremely high, and to be having these unfortunate balances and these that are just not going in, it's tough."
The TNT guys called "cap" after the studio played Towns' comments.
"You know what cap is?" Draymond Green asked his co-hosts. "KAT capping," he added.
As the only renowned "shooter" on the panel, Kenny Smith presented a logical breakdown of why he felt Towns was lying.
"I never took shots, I did makes," Smith said. "So, to make 300 in a day takes about 30-40, about 45 minutes. So if you're taking 1500, it's gonna be taking you over two and a half hours, and you're already practicing at shootaround, so it's cap."
Charles Barkley doubled down on Draymond Green and Kenny Smith's takes, saying Karl-Anthony Towns was "lying." He added why Towns focusing more on his 3-point shooting is a problem for his game, especially with him going 3 for 22 in three games during the conference finals.
Barkley preached Towns needs to work on his offensive game on all three levels as a big man.
Kyle Anderson advises Karl-Anthony Towns to attack the rim amid shooting slump
Karl-Anthony Towns' shooting slump is partly to blame for the Timberwolves falling to 0-3 against the Mavericks. Towns have averaged a measly 15.0 points on 27.8% shooting, including 13.6% from 3. He has attempted 22 of his 32 field goal attempts have been from outside the arc. That's also led to a low free throw attempt rate at 4.7 per game, where he's been efficient, making 12 of 14 shots in the series.
That speaks to his ill-advised decision-making offensively, leading to the team's execution problems. Veteran Kyle Anderson has also urged Towns to attack the paint more after Game 3's 0 for 8 night, saying (via Timberwolves beat writer Dane Moore):
"I think KAT gotta just do a better job of maybe getting back to his old self, of finding himself around the basket more. Rim running, taking advantage of mismatches."
Karl-Anthony Towns holds a sign advantage over his primary matchup in P.J. Washington, but he hasn't been as impactful, often settling for shots outside the paint. If Towns can get back to balancing his play as a true center and a pick-and-pop threat, that might give the Timberwolves offense a shot in the arm.