Karl-Anthony Towns scored just six points in the New York Knicks’ 121-90 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday, marking his fourth single-digit scoring game this season. The All-Star big man is averaging 21.5 points on 47 percent shooting, down from 24.4 points on 52.6 percent last season under Tom Thibodeau.
Towns attributed his struggles to adjusting to Mike Brown’s system. He is taking fewer shots and converting at significantly lower rates than during his final season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Different system,” Towns said. “It’s just different.”
The center acknowledged making the biggest sacrifice in the new offensive scheme. Towns emphasized the team needs to refocus during their upcoming practice session.
“Biggest adjustment is for me. Like Mike said, I make the biggest sacrifice,” Towns said. “We’re figuring it out. We’ve got a long flight, a practice tomorrow, we’ve got to sit down and figure out who we are and how we want to get back on track.”
Towns’ three-point shooting has also declined significantly to 35.6 percent from 42 percent last season.
Last week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that things between Towns and Brown were good after some early season tension.