The Timberwolves are in a lot better place these days. Jimmy Butler is knocking down game-winning three-pointers for the Sixers, which means he isn't dogging Karl-Anthony Towns or Andrew Wiggins. In exchange, the Wolves picked up a pair of legit starters, Robert Covington and Dario Saric, who can defend and shoot. Rumor has it Tom Thibodeau even smiled the other day. After the trade, the Wolves won six of their last eight and three in a row after beating the Cavs on Monday night.
Perhaps that's why RoCo decided to have a little fun at Towns' expense when he played media member during a recent scrum.
"Ahh, when RoCo is beat on a cut, I'm usually the one right there waiting for the person," Towns answered with a smile. "So I'm pretty happy with my ability to help him out."
Covington interjected, "Need more blocked shots," and they were smirking about the back-and-forth before a spaced out reporter asked KAT if he actually likes pro wrestling.
While it was all in fun, Covington—despite only playing eight games with a new team in a new scheme (by defensive taskmaster, Thibodeau)—has the second-best defensive plus-minus among Wolves who have logged at least 250 minutes (trailing only backup point guard Tyus Jones). Conversely, Towns, who has been rightfully criticized for his defensive lapses considering how dominant he can be on the offensive end, has the second-worst defensive plus-minus, with only Taj Gibson giving up more points per possession when he's been on the floor so far this season.
Despite the kernal of truth to Covington's joking question, KAT decided to get his retribution by asking RoCo about his 1-for-18 (including 0-for-10) shooting night against the Bulls in a win from late last week. Covington handled it gracefully:
Even though he shot just 0-for-10 against the Bulls, RoCo is connecting on an above-average 39.1 percent from deep so far this season, while continuing the stellar perimeter defense that saw him named All-Defensive First Team last season. In this battle of media trolling, we're giving the advantage to Covington.
