Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns
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Karl-Anthony Towns attempted just five shots in the Knicks' loss to the Cavaliers.
Despite still being viewed as a contender, the New York Knicks have been one of the NBA’s more polarizing teams this season. Following their latest matchup, the coaching staff was called out for their usage of one of the roster’s top talents.
At the start of the year, Karl-Anthony Towns made waves when he made choice comments about being unsure of his role under new head coach Mike Brown. Now more than halfway through the year, there still seems to be a disconnect with the All-Star center. Towns has been playing well out of the break, but had a questionable outing on February 24th against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Facing off against the Cavs, the Knicks had a chance to pick up a win over one of their top rivals in the conference. However, the new-look Cleveland squad managed to stay hot and walk out with a 109-94 victory.
Towns wasn’t a complete no-show in this game, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes of action. However, what stood out was that he attempted just five shots. This marked the fourth time this season he’s ended a matchup with five or fewer field goal attempts.
While on the “Run It Back” show on February 25th, Lou Williams gave his thoughts on Towns’ performance against the Cavs. He called out the Knicks for allowing this to happen and that Brown needs to come together if New York is going to succeed in the playoffs.
“Your second-best player on the team, totally unacceptable. Especially in a game like this,” Williams said. “That’s something that Mike Brown and KAT, they need to look at each other and say we got to be better as a collective if we’re going to continue to move forward.”
Run It Back
It’s “totally unacceptable” that Karl-Anthony Towns only took 5 shots vs. the Cavs, says Lou Williams 👎
Lou says KAT should’ve been “demanding” more shots when he was the only Knicks player making shots 🗣️
@MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23
NBA Insider Sounds Off on Karl-Anthony Towns’ Minimal Shot Attempts vs Cavs
Karl-Anthony Towns’ usage has been a major topic of conversation across the NBA. Seeing that he’s New York’s top option behind Jalen Brunson, five shots just simply isn’t enough for a player of his caliber.
While on ESPN’s “Get Up” on February 25th, NBA insider Tim MacMahon voiced his concerns for the Knicks’ offense. Similar to Williams, he emphasized that the coaching staff needs to do more to keep the former No. 1 pick involved on that end of the floor.
“It’s absolutely dumbfounding that KAT gets five shots,” MacMahon said. “You got to figure out a way to get this guy the ball. He needs to be more aggressive, his teammates got to find him, the coaches have to figure out a way to get him the ball.”
Karl-Anthony Towns Has Seen Significant Production Dip Amid Knicks Coaching Change
As the regular season comes to a close, the Knicks need to put serious time into this situation with Towns. If they want any chance of fulfilling their championship aspirations, they’ll need their star big man locked in and engaged on both ends.
Following their coaching change, Towns is on pace to have one of the least productive years of his career. He is averaging a career-low 13.9 attempts per game, which is resulting in him posting his lowest points per game total since his rookie season (20.0).
Seeing that Towns is mainly known for his offense, New York likely won’t make it far if this disconnect isn’t taken care of between now and the postseason.