The New York Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns during the offseason in the hopes that he’d help them get to the Promised Land. Towns was expected to elevate the Knicks’ offense, and while he did that, The Athletic reports that his defensive habits have frustrated his teammates and coaches.
“Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies. Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end.
“Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter.”
The fact that Towns isn’t a great defender isn’t something that we or the Knicks just found out. That’s been the biggest problem when it comes to him for years, but the team decided to acquire him anyway.
Towns’ issues on defense were on full display in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals as the Indiana Pacers eliminated the Knicks. His pick-and-roll defense, in particular, was woeful as he gave Tyrese Haliburton far too much space by staying back.
Haliburton barely broke a sweat as he scored six straight points during one stretch in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the series, meanwhile, the Knicks’ defense was a mess when it came to defending the three when Towns was on the court. If you want to win in the latter stages of the playoffs, all this simply cannot happen.
It would be unfair, though, to put all of the blame for the 125-108 loss in Game 6 on Towns. The 29-year-old put up 22 points (8-19 FG), 14 rebounds, two assists, and one steal against the Pacers. It wasn’t his greatest performance, but it wasn’t an absolute disaster by any means.
For the series, Towns averaged 24.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. He certainly had his moments, like when he dragged the Knicks to victory in Game 3 with 20 points in the fourth quarter.
This series loss does raise questions regarding Towns and Jalen Brunson as a duo. Sure, they can score at a high level, but when both of them are on the court, the opposition finds it easier to score as well. The Knicks seemed better off with just one of them on the court at times in this series.
Towns and Brunson aren’t good defenders, to say the least. The Knicks surrounded them with the likes of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, and Josh Hart, but were still exposed defensively from time to time. This is going to be a problem moving forward as well, and you wonder if the front office decides to make another big move.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo would be the obvious target if he asks out, but if they can’t get him, there really isn’t any major move for them to make. That will mean running it back with this core.
The Knicks’ ceiling seems to be the Conference Finals at this point. While that’s not bad for a franchise that has struggled so much this century, they have aspirations of lifting that Larry O’Brien Trophy.
