Jaylen Nowell not satisfied with progress in his game for Timberwolves

Jaylen Nowell's answer was succinct but cut to the point.

At shootaround Friday, Nowell was asked how to evaluate his season up to this point.

"Not going well," he said.

Nowell has seen his minutes increase this season and entered Friday averaging a career-high 11.3 points per game, but how he is getting there has not been satisfactory to him. He was shooting only 29% from three-point range and is hopeful that can improve more toward the 39% from last season.

"Just get in the gym more," Nowell of how he tries to fix his game. "Watch more film, see where the spots are at and just continue to work."

The absence of the injured Jordan McLaughlin hasn't helped Nowell's numbers, since the two of them had a good chemistry together. Coach Chris Finch said he sensed Nowell was pressing "a lot" on the floor.

"I think he's trying to force himself into the game," Finch said. "What it's doing probably is bleeding over into the great looks that he's getting. He's trying to get himself going by taking some tough shots out there with a lot of hands in his face and then when the ball comes back, or a different situation where he's shooting it open, particularly from three, he hasn't seen that go in."

Karl-Anthony Towns delivered the coats from his annual "KAT's Community Coat Drive" to YouthLink on Wednesday.

Each season Towns collects and donates hundreds of new or gently used coats to benefit youth of the Twin Cities.

"I just want to make an impact in this community that goes deeper than basketball," Towns said.

In addition to the coat drive, Towns briefly touched on his recovery from a right calf injury he suffered Nov. 28. It was the first time he publicly addressed the recovery and how it compared to other injuries of his in the past. He did not mention a timetable for return.

"I'm feeling good," Towns said. "I'm getting better every day. It's just a long process. Definitely was a significant injury. It was my first one I ever had. Definitely beats the broken wrist and the dislocated wrist. It's a different challenge. I think if anyone's kept track of my life, my life has always been full of challenges."

Towns added he has been thinking a lot about where best he can fit in upon his return.

"The great thing about being injured, it gives you a lot of time to think," Towns said. "I've been able to be a coach and be sitting back watching our team and seeing where I can implement myself even more and do even things better than I did before I was injured."

Another recently injured Wolves big man, Naz Reid, has been in and out of the lineup recently because of back spasms. They caused him to miss two games before Reid has come back to play in the previous three.

"Just a little bit, nothing crazy," Reid said when asked if the injury is still affecting him. "At times I start to feel it, but I'll get through it."

He has been playing through the pain and commended teammate Anthony Edwards for doing the same through left hip soreness.

"For everybody it shows a toughness that he has and what he brings to the table," Reid said. "Everybody's following suit. That's our guy right now. I feel as though if he does the proper things, everybody's going to follow right behind him."

Finch mentioned Edwards, who entered the night as questionable, was dealing with a "deep bruise" but has been "cleared of all tests."

Taurean Prince (left ankle sprain) and Kyle Anderson (illness) also came in as questionable but were available to play.

Star Tribune staff writer Megan Ryan contributed to this report.