All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns has become something of a fall guy for the New York Knicks this season, with fans and analysts alike routinely blaming him for the team’s inability to remain consistent.
During Tuesday’s 109-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, for example, Towns was widely blamed for being “passive” and taking only five shots against a Cavaliers team that ranks middle of the pack in defensive efficiency.
Towns, though, is not bothered by the critics and remains solely focused on the task at hand: helping the Knicks capture their first NBA championship since 1973.
“For us, it’s about the consistency,” Towns said, via The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III.
“When you play a seven-game series, you have to win four of those seven. You have to consistently be good. Sometimes you’re great, but the other team is just better that night, and you have to accept those results. You go into a series thinking you need to win five of seven. We just have to be the best version of ourselves come playoff time.”
‘People Want Instant Gratification’
The six-time All-Star went on to rip critics for expecting the Knicks to always produce quality basketball, while calling his team an unfinished product. Last year, the Knicks were similarly doubted entering the playoffs after an up-and-down regular season. Ultimately, they knocked out the then-reigning NBA champions, the Boston Celtics , en route to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance this century.
Towns believes the Knicks can do it again, urging fans and analysts to preach patience as he and his teammates still fit into Mike Brown’s new system.
“Right now, we’re all trying to figure it out,” he stressed.
“We’re still trying to figure out the system, the new things we’re doing, the nuances that go with it and the changes we’re trying to make. It’s still a work in progress.
“I know, being in New York, everyone wants a finished product right now. People want instant gratification, but we’re still trying to figure out a lot.”
Knicks Remain Inconsistent
Amazingly, the Knicks have gone 12-4 in their last 16 games with the best net rating in basketball. Yet, oddsmakers seem to no longer believe in Mike Brown’s team. Per ESPNBet , the Knicks (+1700) now own the seventh-shortest odds to win the championship, and the fourth-shortest odds to represent the East in the NBA Finals.
The oddsmakers can’t be blamed, given that the Knicks resemble an elite team one day and a mediocre one the next — a trend that has followed them all year. To that end, they were crushed by an undermanned Pistons in their first game after the All-Star break, only to turn around and overcome a 17-point deficit against the Rockets . And once again, they laid an egg against a Cavs team they had beaten in two previous matchups.
Josh Hart echoed Towns’ sentiments, preaching patience.
“I think we’re still figuring out the style we want to play, the identity we want to play,” Hart said of the Knicks’ inconsistent season.
“I think that is where some of those lulls come from. We have to, collectively, figure that out. Time is of the essence. We have to really spend the next 20 or so games really finding our identity and how we want to execute.”
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