NEW YORK – The New York Knicks continued their tradition of playing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, losing 114-97 to the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks. They also continued their losing streak, now four games and tied for their largest of the season thus far.
At 25-18 and in sole possession of the Eastern Conference's third seed, it might seem that all is well at The World's Most Famous Arena. Behind the scenes, things are as tenuous for the Knicks as they've been in Jalen Brunson's tenure. After their ninth loss in eleven games, reports surfaced that Knicks president Leon Rose's front office has looked into some potential major changes.
“Whispers around the league have begun to speculate about the possibility of the Knicks moving him. (According to one league source, the Knicks have not shopped Towns or brought him up with any teams.) His name surfaced when the Bucks and Knicks discussed the chance of a deal involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, but now league sources said talks have involved other teams, including Memphis, Orlando and Charlotte,” Newsday's Steve Popper wrote after Monday's loss.
How Mike Brown's Knicks can get Towns back on track
The three-time All-NBA big man has not yet found a rhythm under his new head coach, Mike Brown. There has been recent discord between Brown and Towns, with neither player nor coach seeming happy with the team's process or its results. Recently, this disconnect surfaced twice in three days in Brown's press conferences following losses to Golden State and Phoenix.
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Something is amiss with these Knicks behind the scenes regarding their lack of execution on each night's game plan — and their coach's confusion as to why it keeps happening. One factor leading to Towns' general frustration could be the loss of both his bread and butter as a play-finisher.
Towns thrives offensively because of his abilities to shoot 3-pointers, take defenders to the rim, and finish inside with uncharacteristically soft touch for a center. Suns head coach Jordan Ott said as much before his team's victory at Madison Square Garden last Saturday.
However, the 30-year-old star is on track for the second-lowest 3-point percentage of his career, with only his rookie season having gone worse. In the paint, things aren't going much better. Through 40 games, Towns is shooting just 57.1% from within five feet of the rim. That's in the NBA's 16th percentile, according to Dunks & Threes. It's on pace to be the lowest conversion rate of his career by over 4%.
Dunks and open 3-pointers are the most efficient shots, which is why opposing defenses work to take them away from Towns. If he and Brown can find rhythm with regard to how he should handle double-teams, all the center has to do is get back to making shots to be fully back on-beat. On-court success can come soon for Towns. Both he and his coach have to be willing to work together to find it.