World Cup Wonderings: Game Two

The second international outings for our Wolves are in the book.

FIBA

The international show rolls on. At this point, it’s more like oasis in a vast hoops desert than anything else, but we will kneel at the water’s edge and lap it up greedily all the same.

If nothing else, watching a scattering of Wolves do their thing and represent their country without the soul-sucking weight of actual Timberwolves expectations is a refreshing change of pace.

So, let’s check in on our five players and five adopted countries.

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Confident KAT

Confidence breeds confidence, just like turmoil festers and begets more turmoil. For Karl-Anthony Towns, those paradoxical mantras seem eternally prevalent in equal part. Last season, Towns entered the season embroiled in the turmoil, and his training camp illness parlayed into a rocky start and the constant tailspin ended with his calf bursting like a pin-struck balloon.

This time around, the three-time All-Star is straddling cloud nine. Instead of the vicious cycle of illness, form and injury, he is in a tumble dryer of prosperity. On a personal level, he is balling. Even on a team where his overarching talent sees him swamped by defenders relentlessly, he is firing away on deep triples, collapsing defenses to pinpoint passes, and drawing fouls at the rim.

Most importantly, Towns just seems to be keeping things simple. For him, simplicity often leads to success. When the open look is there, he is firing away without hesitation.

And, when the defense shrinks around him, he is making quick and decisive passing reads. No elbows, no hooking, no flopping and no stray voltage. Just the purest strand of his talent rolled up and puffed on happily.

So far, Towns is putting up 25 points and 10.5 rebounds over the opening two games. And that dominance is translating to somewhat surprising team success. His latest triumph over a seasoned and tough-to-top Italian team has the Dominican Republic squad in pole position to advance into the second round of the tourney.

Towns is leading his country to legitimate success and that can only inject oodles of confidence into his mindset and game as we ramp up into training camp and eventually the season proper. If, like last year, this summer is a precursor to his season, then the rocky Western Conference road will become much smoother for the Timberwolves.

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Nickeil’s Nice

Everything is coming up rainbows and sunshine for Team Canada and, while he is hardly the face of the squad, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is filling a truly translatable role and doing it superbly. First, he knocked down a triumvirate of long-balls as the Canadians wiped France, before joining his teammates in ravaging the lifeless carcass of the Lebanon national squad.

With the obvious caveat that it was a soft kill, the human alphabet was once again marvelous in a bench role that should resemble the one that he will be in with the Wolves. His jump shot has clearly had some minor tinkering, resulting in a cleaner form that is nestling in the nylon incessantly. Another four made triples against Lebanon makes it 8-of-15 (53.3%) for the tournament, with the most encouraging aspect coming from the diversity of shots he is getting up and inevitably making.

Of course, he’s striping them from the corners and wings on catch-and-shoot looks, but with his role entailing a hearty helping of ball-handling and point guard duties, he is feeling more and more adept at punishing teams for going under screens on him.

As someone who has lived in the frigid lands of streakiness in the big leagues, that’s a shot that Alexander-Walker is going to get next season. If he can start to knock them down at a more reliable clip and with a higher frequency, that Timberwolves second unit is going to have a little more bite to it offensively.

Another way for him to help sharpen the reserve’s teeth is to continue making plays for others, as he has during the tournament. Whether it’s been on the ball in that point guard role or off the ball as a second side playmaker, Alexander-Walker has been fantastic.

This is a pass we should be seeing a lot next season when he is playing his off-ball spot-up role. By being able to attack a closeout like this and whip a (left-handed!) bullet to the man who is left open after the defense rotates, he becomes more than just that streaky shooter.

Alexander-Walker has been a real shining light so far. Seemingly settled with a contract and a defined role, his obvious improvements now have a stage to sing on.

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