Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks, Mike Brown
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Karl-Anthony Towns is now listed as questionable with an illness for the New York Knicks against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which comes after he has already dealt with a quad injury to begin the season.
Though he might not be performing at the same level as superstar Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns has had a strong run over the past few games for the New York Knicks.It was a difficult start to the season for the center, ashe’s dealt with multiple health concerns, but most recently,Towns has putin three straight games with at least 20 points,then rebounds, and four assists.
However, amid this strong run the big man has been on for New York, itdoesn’t overshadow the injuries Towns has been dealing with.In just about everysingle Knicks game, the center has been ‘questionable‘or ‘day to day’, and now,his status for theteam’s next game against the Minnesota Timberwolves is uncertain.
Wolves Lead
Karl-Anthony Towns has been downgraded to QUESTIONABLE (illness) vs Minnesota tonight
“Towns (illness) is questionable forWednesday’s game against Minnesota,”RotoWire staff reported on his status. “Towns was added to the injury report overnight, presumably after waking up under the weather.There’s a good chance he warms up before a decision is made on his status, as it will take a lot to keep Towns out of the lineup.”
As they mentioned, Towns has been eager to play this season, despite the health woes. He, along with Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby, are the only Knicks players to start and play in each of their seven games, but the center has been fighting off more injuries than the rest combined.
Towns’ Uncertain Status In The First Two Weeks Of The Season
The latest illness by Towns is perhaps less worrisome than the quad injury he has been playing with to begin the year.During training camp, he suffered a gradetwo quadricep strain, andthat has been following him through the first two weeks of the season.
Speaking after theKnicks’ opening night game, Towns said the injury was affecting him, but he wanted to play for the fans.
“I‘ve been banged up, and I reallyhaven’t gotten a chance to practice or play in the last two preseason games,”he said on October 23. “Ididn’t want to disappoint the fans.It’s not somethingthat’s easy to deal with, [but] we made it happen tonight…It was hurting, for sure.”
Since then, Towns has played in every game, but withadecent spread in thetypes of numbers he was putting up. Whilerecently, the big man seems more comfortable playing with the injury, his statistics look more similar tothose of last season, whichdoesn’t negate some of the other weaker games. Most notable of that was an eight-point, 12-rebound game on 2/12 shooting against the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I didn’t do what we needed to do to win tonight, andthat’s on me and I take full responsibility on that,”Towns said after theBucks’ loss. “Accountability is something big in this locker room and I always will do that.”
However, the numbersrecently have beenstronger, and the Knicks have now won two games in a row.The illnessisn’t a great sign forTowns’ chancesat suiting up against his former team, but as seen through seven games, it is hard to predictthat it will keep him out.
Knicks Need Their All-Star Center More Than Ever
While theearly-season struggles for the Knicks have been hard to ignore,specifically ontheir offensive scheme, Towns has been barely to blame for theKnicks’ lack of a strong big man rotation, for the time being. As of now, New York has been without good showings from their backup bigs in the form of Mitchell Robinson and Guerschon Yabusele.
The former hasonly playedin two games due to rest, and in those contests,he is averagingtwo points,eight rebounds, and a block. Most recently,Knicks’ new head coach Mike Brown said Robinson will be on a minutes restriction whenever hedoes return, not a good sign for a team that sawtheir most success with him in the starting lineup last season.
Yabusele has also been limited by injuries.The big-name free agent who signed with New York has played in only four games, withsimilar, but even less impactful averagescompared to Robinsonof 1.5 points andthree reboundson an average of justten minutes per game.
The Knicks have a player like Anunoby who can guard post players, but New York needs Towns, Robinson, and Yabusele healthy and impactful if they want to reach anything close to their peak. Brown also has Ariel Hukporti, Pacome Dadiet, and Mohamed Diawara, but none of those young guys have played anything close to meaningful minutes yet.
Towns’ illness and quad injury could be a greater cause for concern, but so far,ithasn’t had thebiggest impact on his play. Still, New York needs him and the other bigs healthy if they want to capitalize on their championship expectations.