Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
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Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns is entering his second season with the New York Knicks. He’s expected to shoulder a major role within Mike Brown’s offensive and defensive system.
Towns enjoyed a strong debut year with New York. In 72 games, he averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, shooting 52.6% from the field and 42% from deep. However, he came in for some criticism due to his conditioning and struggles on the defensive end.
It’s for those reasons that former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins believes Towns will be under significant pressure to contend for a championship in the upcoming season. Perkins’ comments came via a recent episode of ESPN’s NBA Today.
“When you talk about players, which players are under the most pressure to deliver, that’s Karl-Anthony Towns,” Perkins said, “Like it’s time for him to deliver. It’s been a lot of criticism when it comes down to Luka Doncic and what he did defensively, and being in shape. Well, KAT falls in that category.”
Perkins continued.
“KAT is a walking bucket. He’s one of one. Arguably the best shooting big we’ve ever seen. He’s really, really skilled, but that’s not what he needs to correct. He needs to correct his ability to get up and down the floor, be able to slide those puppies, because he was getting cooked in the big role.”
Towns has already proven himself to be an elite offensive weapon. However, his defensive struggles have certainly led to some significant discussion regarding his viability in a single-big lineup.