Karl-Anthony Towns has become a central figure for the Knicks, significantly impacting their performance in the series against the Hawks. His recent dominance has shifted the narrative around his role on the team.
Key points
Karl-Anthony Towns' role on the Knicks was debated for five months.
Concerns included his shot attempts and fit with Jalen Brunson.
Towns dominated in the series against the Hawks.
His performance may change perceptions about his role.
KnicksHawks
Video Player Cover
ATLANTA - For five months or so, there was an open debate over Karl-Anthony Townsâ role on this Knicks team.
Townsâ shot attempts, his post-ups, his pick-and-roll opportunities and his body language were scrutinized nightly.
Some felt he wasnât getting enough shots. Others thought the Knicks didnât know how to use him. Many ex-players in the media felt Towns needed to be more aggressive. Others saw Towns and Jalen Brunson as a bad fit.
But after Thursday night â after Towns dominated long stretches of this Hawks series â it may be time to mute the conversation.
âHeâs played phenomenal,â Brunson said of his running mate. âThe way weâve been able to trust each other, all of us obviously including him, itâs been great.â
The shift for Towns and the Knicks started after Game 3. With the team trailing, 2-1, Mike Brown and his staff tweaked the offense âto find more ways to put our guys in their strengths while getting to it quickly.â
That started with getting the ball to Towns at the top of the floor. He had 10 assists in Game 4 and kept finding his teammates for the rest of the series. In the Knicksâ last three wins, Towns averaged 8.7 assists per game. He also averaged 11.6 rebounds and recorded triple-doubles in two of those three games.
Perhaps just as impressive, the Knicks outscored Atlanta by 62 points with Towns on the floor in Games 4, 5 and 6.
âI thought KAT was amazing,â Josh Hart said when asked about New Yorkâs defense in Game 6. âTo start the game blitzing, protecting the rim, he had some big blocks, his energy was huge for us. I just think the physicality, the attention to detail, focus on the gameplan, I think all those are at a very high level.â
Q&A
How has Karl-Anthony Towns impacted the Knicks' performance against the Hawks?
Karl-Anthony Towns has dominated key stretches in the series, which has been crucial for the Knicks' success.
What were the debates surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns' role on the Knicks?
Debates included his shot attempts, post-ups, pick-and-roll opportunities, and overall aggression on the court.
Why were some analysts skeptical about Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson playing together?
Many analysts believed that Towns and Brunson might not fit well together, raising concerns about their compatibility on the court.
What changes did the Knicks make to feature Karl-Anthony Towns more effectively?
The Knicks adjusted their strategy to increase Towns' shot attempts and involvement in plays, allowing him to showcase his skills.
Related Articles
Sports
Arne Slot hails Alexander Isak as âtop levelâ and backs him to transform Liverpool attack
Arne Slot calls Alexander Isak a 'top level' player for Liverpool
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
Towns seems to be playing at a high level on both sides of the ball at the ideal time for New York.
His season started with more questions than answers. In late October, Towns gave a less-than-enthusiastic answer to a question about his role in Brownâs offense.
âHonestly, I donât know. I donât know,â Towns said then. âBut weâre figuring it out. Thatâs it, but, honestly, I donât know.â
Now, a little over six months later, Towns seems to know exactly what to do.
âI never doubted my ability,â Towns said after Game 6. âI never doubted the work I put in. Itâs just â you gotta adjust, you gotta adjust. Especially (with) a lot of new things being thrown at you, youâre being asked to do a lot more things â some things that (havenât) consistently been asked of me in my career so. Itâs one thing anyone who knows me, who's followed my career, Iâm willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for the team to win.
âAnd I think this year Iâve shown that again. Whatever the team needs me to do, the player the team needs me to be, Iâll step up to the plate, step up to the challenge.â
TACTICAL ADVANTAGE
Brown thanked his entire staff after the series. In his postgame press conference, Brown referenced nearly all of his staff by name to thank them for their work during the series.
âIâm the one sitting up here, but those guys were phenomenal getting us prepared for the series, and they were phenomenal throughout the course of the series,â Brown said.
Brown noted that the Knicks made some offensive adjustments after Game 3 against the Hawks.
Once the Knicks implemented those adjustments, they outscored the Hawks by 96 points.
âWe had to change (the offense), because every possession was a grind those first three games, especially down the stretch. And so we had to find more ways to put our guys in their strengths while getting to it quickly, while still having options,â Brown said. âIâm not a guy that likes to call every play. I want our guys to be able to read where the advantage is quickly throughout the course of the action. And Atlanta forced us to find a way to do that and feel pretty good about where weâre at right now.â
As noted above, part of the adjustment was getting the ball in Townsâ hands on specific spots on the floor.
âYou ask for the opportunities and they obliged and Iâve gotta repay that trust and that opportunity,â Towns said. âI just want to do whatever â I always talk to yaâll about impact of winning. I got more opportunities to do that and I wanted to make sure I didn't not take advantage of the opportunities I was given.â
I donât know if there were any offensive adjustments for OG Anunoby, but he was clearly the most valuable Knick of the series.
Anunoby averaged 21 points on 61 percent shooting in this series. He hit 56.6 percent of his 30 three-point attempts and averaged 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals. The Knicks outscored the Hawks by 84 points in Anunoby's 115 minutes vs. Atlanta. In Game 6, Anunobyâs 14 first-quarter points prevented the Hawks from establishing a lead. He finished with four steals, seven rebounds and a block.
âOG was phenomenal. He played 27 minutes, had 29 points on 14 field-goal attempts and rebounded his behind off,â Brown said.
The Knicksâ other wing, Mikal Bridges, also played well on Thursday. After struggling earlier in the series, Bridges put up 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting and defended at a high level.
âThatâs our guy,â Hart said. âWhenever he comes out aggressive, that adds another dimension to this team. And heâs someone that we count on, someone that we need to make a run. Great to see him be aggressive, picking his sorts and those kinds of things. Defensively, he brought it this whole series.â
Hart also brought it defensively for the whole series. He defended CJ McCollum for long stretches in the last four games. McCollum shot 40 percent and had 14 turnovers over the Hawksâ last four games.
âAfter Game 1 and Game 2, (when) he kind of went off and kind of took over the game, thatâs the matchup that I wanted going into Game 3 and after,â Hart said. âI had some conversations with the coaches about not taking me off him and those kinds of things.â
