The NBA semifinals have officially begun, and the team that will be out of the first round of the playoffs is the Timberwolves. As the core of the team, Timberwolves center Towns has once again been sprayed by the outside world.
In the series against the Grizzlies, Towns averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds in 37 minutes in six games, shooting 48.8%. Although compared to the first playoff statistic improvement four years ago (averaging 15.2 points and 13.4 rebounds per game in the 2017-18 playoffs), this playoff is also the Timberwolves' top scorer, but Towns is not tough on the court.
In the first five games of the series, Towns repeatedly misaligned against Timberwolves guard Brooks, but did not use his own block advantage to attack, which also made Warriors forward Green question his playing style. In the life-and-death battle of Game 6 of the series, Towns was shooting three points in the last moment, and did not show a particularly tough performance, and the last quarter almost disappeared, which made him more questioned by the outside world.
In stark contrast to him, Edwards, a second-year playoff first in the playoffs, was more energetic and tougher on both ends of the game. Although the experience is far less than Downs, and the current degree of affirmation is also far less than Downs, Edwards's game temperament is more recognized by fans. Whether it's the misplaced defense of Morant in this series, or the performance of superstars such as Curry, Harden, James, Durant, Irving, Andcic in the regular season, Edwards is getting more and more praise.
To this end, when the Timberwolves were out of the first round, many fans thought that the Timberwolves were the edwards who should be in the second year, rather than letting Downs, who had played for 7 seasons but had not made much progress and had not been tough enough at both ends of the attack and defense, continue to serve as the core of the team.
The 26-year-old Towns, as a 2.11-meter-tall center, does have a very outstanding talent and ability on the offensive end, he can be inside and outside, can hold the ball offensively, shoot three points, dribble singles and attack in the low position, but on the defensive end, his performance has not been good enough, and on the offensive end, his toughness has been criticized. Seven seasons later, Towns hasn't proven himself a leader.
Although he has been named an All-Star three times and was named to the All-Team Team in 2018, Towns, who previously signed a five-year, 190 million super salary contract with the Timberwolves, has never led the Timberwolves to make much progress. It wasn't until this season that Timberwolves head coach Finch had a good chemistry on the team and second-year Edwards showed superstar potential that the Timberwolves changed.
Of course, it's hard to judge a player's abilities through a series, whether it's Towns or Edwards. But if Downs still doesn't have a particularly tough performance next season, and Edwards continues to improve himself, then the Timberwolves may really consider correcting Edwards, after all, each team has its own expectations and growth limits for core players.