Karl-Anthony Towns is entering his second season with the New York Knicks. He’s expected to shoulder a major role within Mike Brown’s offensive and defensive system.
Towns enjoyed a strong debut year with New York. In 72 games, he averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, shooting 52.6% from the field and 42% from deep. However, he came in for some criticism due to his conditioning and struggles on the defensive end.
It’s for those reasons that former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins believes Towns will be under significant pressure to contend for a championship in the upcoming season. Perkins’ comments came via a recent episode of ESPN’s NBA Today.
“When you talk about players, which players are under the most pressure to deliver, that’s Karl-Anthony Towns,” Perkins said, “Like it’s time for him to deliver. It’s been a lot of criticism when it comes down to Luka Doncic and what he did defensively, and being in shape. Well, KAT falls in that category.”
Perkins continued.
“KAT is a walking bucket. He’s one of one. Arguably the best shooting big we’ve ever seen. He’s really, really skilled, but that’s not what he needs to correct. He needs to correct his ability to get up and down the floor, be able to slide those puppies, because he was getting cooked in the big role.”
Towns has already proven himself to be an elite offensive weapon. However, his defensive struggles have certainly led to some significant discussion regarding his viability in a single-big lineup.
Towns Works Better Next to a Rim Protector
Mitchell Robinson’s injury issues limited Tom Thibodeau’s ability to experiment with a double-big lineup consisting of both Towns and Robinson. However, there were some fleeting moments when we got to see what the Knicks could look like with Towns operating as a power forward.
According to Cleaning The Glass, Towns spent 140 non-garbage time possessions in the four last seasons. During those possessions, the Knicks outscored opponents by +19 points per 100 possessions.
While the sample size is incredibly small, there’s clearly some potential upside in pairing Towns with a more defensively-minded big man such as Robinson. That would allow New York’s star offensive big man to focus on what he does well, while also providing some reliable help-defense due to his size and length.
Brown may have some other ideas in mind, but we shouldn’t be surprised if he experiments with a double-big rotation during the opening weeks and months of the new season.
Knicks Add High-Level Offensive Coach
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks have continued to round out Brown’s coaching staff with the addition of T.J. Saint.
“Saint, head coach of the Pelicans G League team, will aid [the Knicks] on the offensive end,” Begley reported. “He’s viewed in NBA circles as a bright offensive mind; Squadron had the G League’s top offense in the 2023-24 regular season. In addition to coaching with the Pelicans, Saint has coached at the University of Georgia, with the Detroit Pistons, at Butler University and Belmont University.”
Saint’s addition could help Towns take his offensive impact to another level, especially after a year of building a partnership with Jalen Brunson. Therefore, between Saint’s addition and potentially pairing Towns with a rim-protecting big man, Towns could be due for a highly impactful season. And if that’s the case, the Knicks’ chances of making it to the NBA finals will receive a significant boost.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Challenge Issued to Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns by Former NBA Champion appeared first on Heavy Sports.