Charles Barkley questioned Towns' shot selection, noting lack of mid-range or post-up attempts
Karl-Anthony Towns underperformed in Game 3 of Western Conference Finals against Dallas Mavericks
Shaquille O'Neal expressed concern about Towns' lack of upset reaction to poor performance
Towns finished with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field and an abysmal 0-of-8 from three-point range
In the Western Conference Finals of the NBA playoffs, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has been underperforming against the Dallas Mavericks. After a particularly inefficient performance in Game 3, Towns claimed to be taking an impressive number of shots during practice to boost his confidence.
However, this claim was met with skepticism from the TNT crew during their post-game analysis. Charles Barkley questioned Towns' shot selection and noted that he wasn't getting enough mid-range or post-up attempts. Shaquille O'Neal expressed concern about Towns' lack of upset reaction to his poor performance, suggesting that being swept in the playoffs is a sign of not being fully ready yet.
Towns finished Game 3 with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field and an abysmal 0-of-8 from three-point range. His team, Minnesota, now faces the possibility of being swept by Dallas in the series.
The TNT crew's analysis raises valid concerns about Towns' performance and his approach to improving it. It remains to be seen whether he will address these issues and adapt his game plan for the remainder of the playoffs.
Karl-Anthony Towns failed to make a 3-point shot in Game 3 against Dallas, going 0-for-8.
Towns claimed he was putting up to 1,500 shots a day during Minnesota’s playoffs run.
The TNT crew called Towns ‘cap’ for lying about his shooting practice.
Accuracy
Karl-Anthony Towns claimed he was putting up to 1,500 shots a day during Minnesota’s playoffs run.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The author, Matt Ehalt, makes an appeal to authority fallacy by quoting and agreeing with the TNT crew's assessment that Karl-Anthony Towns is lying about shooting 1,500 shots a day. The TNT crew does not provide any evidence or data to support their claim.
“You know what cap is?” Johnson asked. “KAT?” Green responded in reference to Towns' nickname. “You're lying,” Smith interjected.
“The thing that's funny about him saying that — first of all, he's lying,” Barkley said of Towns.
Bias
(95%)
The author and the TNT crew are making jokes about Karl-Anthony Towns' claim of shooting 1,500 shots a day. They call it 'cap', which is slang for lying. There is no evidence provided in the article to support that Towns actually made this claim outside of his statement during the postgame interview.
“KAT cappin’.” Green responded in reference to Towns' nickname.
“The thing that’s funny about him saying that — first of all, he’s lying,” Barkley said of Towns.
Draymond Green accused Karl-Anthony Towns of lying about taking 1,500 shots per day during practice.
Green believes that Towns is not dominating the ball enough and that he tends to perform poorly when under pressure.
Accuracy
Karl-Anthony Towns finished 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from three-point range in the Timberwolves’ loss to the Mavericks.
Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 27.8% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Towns missed all eight attempts from downtown in Game 3.
Neither Towns’ three-point shooting nor the league’s top-ranked defense have been effective in the conference finals.
Deception
(50%)
The author makes a statement about Karl-Anthony Towns claiming he takes 1,500 shots per day during practice and labels it as a lie. However, the article does not provide any evidence to support this claim other than the opinions of Draymond Green and Kenny Smith. This is an example of selective reporting as only details that support the author's position are reported.
Draymond says KAT ‘lying’, about taking 1,500 shots per day
Nobody is shooting 1,500 shots a day right now.
Fallacies
(95%)
The author, Ali Thanawalla, makes an informal fallacy by labeling Karl-Anthony Towns as 'lying' about taking 1,500 shots a day based on his own opinion. No evidence is provided to support this claim.
Draymond says KAT ‘lying’ about taking 1,500 shots per day
Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 27.8% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
He is a career 39.8% shooter from deep.
Through three games, Towns has gone 0-for-6 or worse from deep five times in his nine-year career.
Nine players in NBA history have had a worse three-point shooting stretch on at least 20 attempts in a three-game span during a single playoff run. Towns is one of them with a 13.6% shooting percentage.
Accuracy
Karl-Anthony Towns finished 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from three-point range in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The author provides a factual account of the game and player statistics without committing any formal logical fallacies. However, there is an appeal to authority in the form of listing other NBA players who have experienced similar shooting slumps but not specifically using their success as evidence for Towns' future performance. Additionally, there is inflammatory rhetoric in describing Towns' struggles as 'historically bad' and quoting his missed shots in a negative light.
Historically bad
It was hard to watch at times.
uncharacteristic for Towns
The shooting woes are uncharacteristic for Towns, a career 39.8% shooter from deep.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from three-point range in the Timberwolves loss to the Mavericks.
Towns is putting up to 1,500 shots per day and remains confident despite his current shooting struggles.
Neither Towns’ three-point shooting nor the league’s top-ranked defense have been effective in the conference finals.
Accuracy
Karl-Anthony Towns shot 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from three-point range in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Karl-Anthony Towns missed all four of his attempts in the final five minutes, including three from beyond the arc.
Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting 27.8% in the series, which is the fourth-worst mark of any player through the first three games of a conference or divisional finals in the shot clock era (minimum 50 shot attempts).
Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 27.8% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Through three games, Towns has gone 0-for-6 or worse from deep five times in his nine-year career.
Karl-Anthony Towns claimed to be taking 1500 shots a day after an inefficient performance in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Charles Barkley criticized Towns’ shot selection rather than his work ethic, questioning if he was getting enough mid-range or post-up attempts.
Shaquille O’Neal expressed concern about Towns’ lack of upset reaction to his poor performance and noted that being swept in the playoffs is a sign of not being ready yet.
Accuracy
Karl-Anthony Towns finished 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from three-point range in the Timberwolves loss to the Mavericks.
Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 27.8% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Deception
(0%)
The author and the Inside the NBA crew are making editorializing statements about Karl-Anthony Towns' claim of shooting 1500 shots a day. They are implying that it is a lie and questioning its validity.
I never took shots, I did makes. To make 300 in a day, takes around 40-45 minutes. If you’re taking 1500, it’s gonna take you two-and-a-half hours, and you already practiced... It’s cap.
The funny thing about him saying that, first of all, he’s lying.
What are the types of shots you’re getting? If he’s just out there shooting threes, he’s still 4-for-32. Does he shoot in the mid-range, or does he do it in the post-up? That would be my question because that’s always been my criticism of him.
