Embattled five-time All-Star New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns has clapped back at his critics — sort of.
After falling to the Indiana Pacers in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals tilt, a pseudo-hit piece from The Athletic’s Fred Katz and James L. Edwards III indicated that multiple New York coaches and players had “expressed frustration” about the 7-footer’s bad habits on defense.
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His defensive connectivity, on a club that boasts four strong defenders playing big minutes in All-Defensive wings Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, center Mitchell Robinson and guard Josh Hart, also came under scrutiny.
Defensive inconsistency has been a bit of a refrain from pundits beyond Towns’ own teams over the years. In the right system, he can at least dial in occasionally, but he’s never going to be former Minnesota Timberwolves colleague Rudy Gobert on that end of the court.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ Middling Defense, Astronomic Offense
In 72 healthy games last season, the 29-year-old Kentucky product averaged 24.4 points on .526/.420/.829 shooting splits, 12.8 rebounds, 3.1 dimes, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks per.
During a new conversation with Sean Gregory of Time, Towns had a relatively sunny take on his detractors.
“All criticism is good criticism. It gives me a chance to go back in the lab and then understand what I’ve got to work on,” Towns said. “Every year I’ve shown the fans and the sports world and NBA world that I’m always continuing to find another level, reinventing myself for the betterment of the team’s success. And I’m going to continue to do that until I have the ring.”
Five-year Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who previously oversaw Towns on the Timberwolves from 2016-19, was let go after New York’s relatively successful season. He had led the team to the postseason in four of his five seasons, winning playoff rounds in three of those seasons. This spring, Knicks’ Eastern Conference Finals appearance represented their first in a quarter-century.
“I didn’t know what was happening,” Towns said of the Thibodeau decision. “I just knew that I left to finally get some R & R, and I’m hearing the news, so obviously I was surprised, like the rest of the world.”
Former Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown, who like Thibodeau is a two-time Coach of the Year, was brought in to add a bit more offensive juice to the proceedings.
“I’ve heard so many great things about him,” Towns said. “To be able to know him now as a person and to grow with him as a player, it’s going to be fun to go through this journey together.”
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