New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns has not had the kind of season he wanted to have to begin the new campaign. He dealt with a quad injury at the start of the season and hasn’t been the same dominant force that he was last season for the Knicks.
Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns is having an inauspicious start to the season
So far this season, he is shooting 31.7% from the field, which is a career low. The new system that Mike Brown has deployed in his first season as Knicks head coach is supposed to help Towns improve offensively, but he has struggled to adapt so far.
ESPN analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins said that Towns needs to adjust his current playstyle to improve his performance on the court.
“I don’t agree with his words because Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the most skilled bigs we have ever seen. I just don’t like the Karl-Anthony Towns in this system because he’s hanging around the perimeter too much,” Perkins explained on the Road Trippin’ podcast.
Brown’s system heavily emphasizes the three-point shot, which has always been one of Towns’ strengths. The team is collectively shooting more threes, and Towns is putting up an average of 5.9 threes per game, which is slightly more than the figure he had last season.
Towns may need to make some adjustments to his playstyle
On one hand, Towns taking more threes is a welcome sight, since he is historically one of the best three-point shooting bigs the league has ever seen. However, when the shot isn’t falling, it would be more encouraging to see Towns try something else to stay confident.
There have been a number of times this season where Towns’ poor shooting affects everything else on the court. The defense gets worse, the body language isn’t great, and the lashing out at officials increases.
It is still early in the season, so as Towns gets more comfortable, he could see his play improve. Perhaps being more aggressive in other areas will help him significantly.