Four games is a microscopic sample size, but so far, Karl-Anthony Towns looks to be proving his eye-opening preseason comments as dead on.
Weeks after telling reporters bluntly, “I don’t know,” when asked about his potential in Mike Brown’s offense, Towns hasn’t looked like he has found any further answers for himself. In Tuesday’s loss to the Bucks, the All-Star center scored just eight points, his lowest total as a Knick, once again got himself into some foul trouble, and stalled the offense in the third quarter when Jalen Brunson was on the bench.
Towns made just one field goal in the first half but appeared to be active and engaged on the boards and even on the defensive end, helping New York get out to a double-digit lead. The second half was a different story, as Towns chucked up 11 shots and made just one, missed all three 3-point attempts, and turned it over three times.
Brown praised Towns’ performance in the first half, noting that he drew several double teams and opened things up for the rest of the offense. Clearly, that is not what Towns is used to or comfortable with as of yet, as he has been a focal point of the scoring in nearly every other offensive scheme he has been a part of. He looked equally uncomfortable in Miami two nights earlier when New York fell to the Heat, suffering through a dreadful shooting night (like many of his teammates). It is obviously early, but early on, Towns does not appear to be settling into his new role put in place by his new head coach, and it’s showing in the box score.
To Towns’ credit, he took ownership of the change in approach in the second half, and the impact it had on the game, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks ran away with the game late in the fourth quarter while the Knicks offense stalled.
“I got a new role. I just gotta embrace it,” Towns told reporters after the game. “I didn't do that for 48 minutes tonight...we're all finding our spots, and find where we could be the most effective in the system.”
Given the expectations for the season, fans will want to see Towns get acclimated in a hurry, but through four games, it doesn’t look like that is happening any time soon.