With 24 points and more than 13 rebounds on average since his arrival at the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns is regaining an offensive influence that he no longer had in the last two seasons, with the emergence of Anthony Edwards in Minnesota.
But Patrick Ewing’s new heir in Gotham’s racket could wreak even more havoc if he managed (finally) to limit his mistakes which, sometimes, limit his playing time, and therefore inevitably, his impact. In this case, KAT has accumulated at least five faults in four of his last seven outings!
Against New Orleans, he was limited to 27 minutes and 11 small points because of fouls too quickly called against him. Against Spurs, for the Christmas match, he did it again against Victor Wembanyama with only 29 minutes…
“It has to come from me first”explains Towns in the New York Post. “Maybe I need to make better decisions [en défense]. I know I give at least one or two stupid fouls every match. To do my job well, I must first avoid these mistakes, which are avoidable. »
Thibodeau calls for discipline
Often criticized for his involvement, and his application, in defense, Towns is a difficult case to analyze because he is clearly not recognized for making the right defensive moves at the right times, but, to his credit, he is also whistled more quickly than others because he goes for contact and also looks for whistles to his advantage on the other side of the field.
For his coach, it’s a matter of selective sorting: there is fault and fault…
“There are good, aggressive fouls and there are fouls that are obviously bad and that we have to clean up,” observe Thibodeau. “The most important thing for him is to understand the difference between the two and to see how they are whistled. Discipline is very important. We want him to make contact but it has to be done intelligently. That’s a big part of physical play, and what wins games. What are the referees looking at? Verticality is one, setting up screens is another… He’s been playing long enough to know what makes them whistle. Let’s be disciplined! »
With a career average of 3.4 fouls called per game, Towns is a repeat offender. Already at Wolves, he often had to abandon his teammates because of bad decisions, stupidly dragging arms, or too obvious forceful passes.
“That’s how it is. But in the end, the most important thing is that we continue to win matches.” he concludes.
On this point, we cannot blame him, since the Knicks currently remain on a very good series of 6 victories in a row, and even sixteen successes in their last twenty meetings. “We do a good job, especially when we are allowed to play physical. This is where we are at our best. We capitalize on our strengths, making stops, creating loose balls and transforming them into easy points. »
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | To | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | MIN | 82 | 32 | 54.3 | 34.1 | 81.1 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 18.3 |
| 2016-17 | MIN | 82 | 37 | 54.2 | 36.7 | 83.2 | 3.6 | 8.7 | 12.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 25.1 |
| 2017-18 | MIN | 82 | 36 | 54.5 | 42.1 | 85.8 | 2.9 | 9.4 | 12.3 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 21.3 |
| 2018-19 | MIN | 77 | 33 | 51.8 | 40.0 | 83.6 | 3.4 | 9.0 | 12.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 24.4 |
| 2019-20 | MIN | 35 | 34 | 50.8 | 41.2 | 79.6 | 2.7 | 8.1 | 10.8 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 26.5 |
| 2020-21 | MIN | 50 | 34 | 48.6 | 38.7 | 85.9 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 10.6 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 24.8 |
| 2021-22 | MIN | 74 | 34 | 52.9 | 41.0 | 82.2 | 2.6 | 7.2 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 24.6 |
| 2022-23 | MIN | 29 | 33 | 49.5 | 36.6 | 87.4 | 1.7 | 6.5 | 8.1 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 20.8 |
| 2023-24 | MIN | 62 | 33 | 50.4 | 41.6 | 87.3 | 1.5 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 21.8 |
| 2024-25 | TODAY | 29 | 34 | 53.9 | 44.8 | 83.5 | 2.8 | 10.7 | 13.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 24.3 |
| Total | 602 | 34 | 52.4 | 40.0 | 83.8 | 2.8 | 8.2 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 23.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
