The paranoid behavior brought about by the magic ball theory will affect the player's offensive choices to a certain extent. If the player is immersed in the magic ball theory, in some offensive rounds with a short thinking time, it is easy to make a wrong judgment. However, if you attack, all the technical means are in line with the magic ball standard, and you are the most important core of the team, and you can use the same efficient magic ball means to help the team win the game throughout the game, then you will most likely upgrade and become another level of player. Harden was the first to show such signs, but many people felt that Harden had gone the wrong way and could not have such high confidence in the magic ball. But after seeing Harden's actual performance, a lot of black powder disappeared. And now there is another figure that can rival Harden in other positions, that is, the Cornerstone of the Timberwolves' center- Towns.
This season, the use of the center version of Harden to describe Towns must not be excessive, because he proves that a player can not consider the opinions of others when he has the ultimate offensive means. And when the team is right, this style of play will not limit the play of others, but will lead to better chemistry. For this, just look at this year's Timberwolves' record and team atmosphere.
Towns is one of the five players with the most comprehensive offensive skills at the moment, and even if you expand this range to other positions, Towns can also enter the first gear. Because Towns has shown a strong ability to learn and a comprehensive approach to attacking from the beginning of entering the league. He was the first player in league history to start his career with two double-doubles, and of course the Timberwolves didn't play well that season, but there was no doubt about what Towns would achieve in the time to come.
Towns has countless ways to torture his opponents on the court, which is one of the main reasons we say he's the center's version of Harden. The richness of the offensive arsenal ensures that Downs has enough ability to output against any defensive player, in any offensive round. This season, Towns' three basic stats are 24.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists, averaging 2.1 three-point shots per game, 41.1% from three-point range and 52.8% from the field, making him the most efficient center among all players. It is worth mentioning that Towns' second offensive attack can average 3.9 points per game, occupying the third position in the league. So combined performance, Towns can get 116.8 offensive efficiency, this season's average score per game to suppress Towns, and the offensive efficiency is higher than him, only Irving, Booker and Mitchell these three guards. So you can probably imagine what kind of position Downs occupies this season, and players of this level are most likely not to appear.
A large part of downs' attack is due to his soft feel. For any player, the state of feel is the foundation of all scoring skills. Only when you have the feel, you can handle all the offensive rounds in the next full period of time. Downs' offense has three main aspects. One-on-one singles, down after blocking cover, and follow-up when launching a quick attack counterattack.
This involves a traditional tactic that can play the advantage of the center forward. The ball is held by the defender player, and after reaching the top of the arc area, it is first pulled to the flank area, and the top of the arc is cleared to the inside player, against the opponent's big defensive player. At this time, if it is an ordinary big man, it should be looking for opportunities to break through, or continue to cooperate with teammates to cover up, and then go down, it is really not possible to take the ball out of the organization.
The advantage of this style of play is that the big player at the top of the arc is the one with the best vision and he can see all the positions. If the opponent's position is more scattered, then he can directly kill the inside attack. If the opponent's position is more dense, he can also create opportunities through cover. But for Downs, the end point of this tactic is himself. He doesn't need cover, as the big men of his opponents are generally within the free throw line, standing at the defensive highs of the penalty area. At this time, Towns had two options, direct projection, relying on more than 40% three-point shooting to end the opponent. Or kill the inside line, use the body to open up a space and then use the soft layup feel to complete the direct score. Towns was sure of that. So it is often seen that Towns received a pass from Russell at the top of the arc, directly a shooting fake action to trick the opponent's inside line, and then enter the inside line to end. As soon as he reached the basket area, Downs was sure to kill his opponent. Unless you encounter a defender of the same level again, you will rarely miss a hand. This is also a benefit of his role as a flexible center forward! These two offensive options are actually the embodiment of the magic ball theory. However, unlike Harden, Downs is through no ball, and Harden himself is the ball-holding point.
Of course, different centers have different treatment options. According to Jokic's habits, it is likely that he will directly start to work around the block, at least first let his teammates move their positions and find the right organization point. Both of these methods are good choices, depending on the actual situation and the configuration of the players.
One could argue that to deal with this situation, you only need to arrange a suitable number four player to interfere with Downs. Be careful defensive, don't be fooled by Downs's fake moves, and pay attention to his offensive footsteps and shrink the defense. It's certainly easy to say, but it's not that easy to do in practice. Towns' teammates were in positions on the flanks and bottom corners, making a lot of room for the interior. If the opponent gives up the outside line, then Downs is bound to complete an assist. And even if the opponent keeps up with Downs, Downs' own speed and pace advantages can open up the empty position in a short period of time. When the Spurs wanted to restrict Towns before, they used a more dexterous number four Collins, and the result was not only that they did not defend Downs, but also had to fight. For this situation, it can only be prayed that Downs did not feel good that day.
We discussed before that at this stage, if Downs becomes the Fifth Position of the Warriors, with the Fourth Position of Green, it is basically invincible. Although this center is not as influential as Embiid and Jokic, it will inevitably shock the league in the foreseeable future!