What Happens When Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns Face Off?
Today, it's not unlikely for players to face off against players who hail from the school as they did. The one-and-done rule has made that a common occurrence. And that's especially the case for Kentucky in this John-Calipari era we live in.
Calipari's program has produced great prospect, one after another. In the last five years, no two prospects stick out more than big men Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns. The two are only 23 and 21 years of age, respectively, and are widely considered two of the best bigs -- if not the best players -- in the NBA today.
As a matter of fact, in the last two general manager surveys (2015 and 2016), Davis and Towns were the players NBA general managers said they would most like to sign to start a franchise with today. Why wouldn't they?
According to our player power rankings, on the year the two are the number 16 and 17 players in the NBA. Davis' 7.4 nERD (numberFire's player ranking that measures a player's overall contribution in a season, based on efficiency) gives him a slight edge over Towns and his 6.9 nERD. Brow's per-game numbers do as well, but what's crazy is that both former Wildcats are averaging at least 23.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. Yeesh!
So, can you imagine what has happened when the two titans have clashed? Luckily, you don't have to.
Brow versus KAT
In three games, Davis' New Orleans Pelicans are undefeated against Towns' Minnesota Timberwolves. And, so far, Davis has had the upper hand.
| Head-to-Head | Points/Game | Rebounds/Game | Blocks/Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Davis | 35.7 | 8.3 | 1.0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 16.0 | 12.0 | 1.3 |
While Davis has far outproduced Towns in the point column, the younger Towns has had a decided advantage in rebounds and a slight edge in blocks -- and he's accomplished this in only 29.3 minutes per matchup. If taken over 36 minutes, Towns' per-game numbers jump to monstrous levels (19.7 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks).
Where Towns has struggled is with efficiency. In 36 minutes, while he would dish out 2.5 assists he would also average 4.5 turnovers and more than 3 fouls per matchup. Even absent those adjusted numbers, Towns has shot just 44.7% from the field despite hitting 2 of 4 attempts from three-point range.
Their last meeting in November marked Towns' worst. In just under 27 minutes, he finished the game 4 of 11 from the field for only 9 points. Opposite of Towns, Davis poured in 45 points on 63% shooting on his home court.
Tonight, the game is in Minnesota, so Towns should be out for revenge.
Knowing that -- and given Towns' increased in minutes (36.4) under coach Tom Thibodeau -- it wouldn't be a bad idea to target both Towns and Davis in DFS tonight. In a game with an over/under of 211.5 and a spread of just 3.5 points, it wouldn't be a bad idea.
