The New York Knicks face a challenging Detroit Pistons team on Friday night, but fans may not see several significant players in their lineup, including Karl-Anthony Towns and their newcomer from a recent trade.
Towns suffered a bloody injury in the first quarter of his team’s game against the Denver Nuggets several days ago. That led the medical staff to address the issue on the sidelines and apply a bandage to prevent bleeding.
It allowed Towns to return to continue playing the game despite the injury, and the Knicks extended their impressive winning streak to eight games, defeating Denver 134-127 in double overtime. Towns fouled out in the first overtime, but finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and an assist, along with the unfortunate laceration near his eye.
According to Ian Begley, Towns was listed as doubtful for the team’s game against the Pistons after his first-quarter collision in the Nuggets game led to a right eye laceration.
Several commenters were surprised by Begley’s update because Towns still played after sustaining the injury in his team’s game against the Nuggets.
“Played the best game of his year with an eye lac and now he can't play???” a commenter said in the X replies.
“Why is he doubtful and he played the whole rest of the game the other day. Put on some goggles and let's go man,” one X commenter wrote.
“How the hell does he finish the game with the same laceration & now he's doubtful for the same thing? What the hell,” an X commenter asked.
Many individuals offered their best guesses in the comments, including that he may have been playing with adrenaline and that there might have been swelling near his eye since the Nuggets game.
The Knicks’ big man is averaging a double-double for his team with 19.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, so his absence could be significant. Meanwhile, the Pistons are coming off a surprising 126-117 home loss to the Washington Wizards and will want to bounce back against a New York team that may be without Towns.
Along with Towns potentially not playing, fans shouldn’t expect to see guard Jose Alvarado, whom they recently traded Dalen Terry to the New Orleans Pelicans for. According to Begley, both Alvarado and Derry need to pass physicals before they can join their respective teams and play in games.
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