Getty
New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns was the subject of criticism for his recent play but that changed with his performance against the Chicago Bulls.
Just as the questions about Karl-Anthony Towns’ impact on the New York Knicks were being raised once again, the center proved once again why the team was right to make the blockbuster trade for him before last season with his performance against the Chicago Bulls.
Towns, after a few disappointing performances after the All-Star break for the Knicks, dropped 28 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals, including multiple clutch plays down the stretch to help New York secure a six-point win over Chicago.
After the game, Towns’ teammate, Jordan Clarkson, dropped a three-word response to the big man’s performance.
“kat big time,” Clarkson wrote in a post on X.
Before his game against the Bulls, Towns was a subject of criticism for not living up to his expectations for the Knicks this season. While he is still averaging only the second-lowest amount of points of his career on the worst field goal percentage across his 11 seasons in the league, Towns’ game versus Chicago proved he has more to offer.
Towns Responds To Critics With Big-Time Performance
Perhaps the most notable criticism Towns got during his recent rough patch was from Shaquille O’Neal of Inside the NBA. The Hall of Fame center has never been afraid to call out big men across the league, and that has been the case with Towns for his entire career.
In a recent conversation between the two, O’Neal told Towns that he needs to be dominant if the Knicks want to have a real chance at winning a title.
“If you guys win the chip, of course they’ll talk about Brunson, but it’s you and your play. You have to be dominant,” O’Neal said. “No, you gotta play great. You’re a part of that 1-2 punch…Nope, you gotta play great to get the credit.”
Shaq and KAT interaction 👀
Shaq: If you guys win the chip, of course they’ll talk about Brunson but its you and your play. You have to be dominant
KAT: They can talk about anybody as long as we get a ring thats the most important thing
Shaq: No, you gotta play great. Your
Towns has been the subject of criticism all season, even saying that he’s felt like the scapegoat at times this year for the Knicks during their struggles. However, after his game against the Bulls, the 30-year-old sent a strong message about the expectations both on himself and the team.
“It’s a blessing to have expectations,” Towns said. “Means we’re doing something right. Last year we did a lot right, fans are expecting even more. My career has been full of pressure, and I understand criticism comes with that when you’re not succeeding. Rightfully so.”
The center added that he cares about winning, and with the expectations on this current iteration of the Knicks as high as ever, Towns knows he will have to make an impact if New York has a chance to win four playoff rounds.
“My whole career has been based on me getting that ring and winning,” Towns added. “And I understand more than ever now in my career that winning trumps everything. It’s gonna take all of us to win a championship.”
Towns earned the Knicks’ team award for the Defensive Player of the Game for his performance against the Bulls, his second time getting the honor this season.
Knicks In The Midst Of Roster Changes After All-Star Break
At the same time that Towns feels he understands the responsibility on his shoulders for this Knicks team, head coach Mike Brown has made multiple roster and rotation changes over the past few weeks to find the right combination of players that can create winning basketball.
While Miles McBride is sidelined for an extended stretch after undergoing surgery, New York traded for Jose Alvarado at the deadline, while also adding Jeremy Sochan off waivers. The two new additions played a combined 36 minutes against the Bulls on Sunday, in turn leaving Tyler Kolek out of the lineup.
Kolek had previously been briefly sent to the G-League, but was recalled shortly after. Yet still, he hasn’t stepped foot on the court in nearly two weeks, and it feels that Alvarado and Sochan have taken his minutes as New York looks to find a solid rotation to make a playoff push.
“There’s always competition in this league,” he told The New York Post last week. “We’re trying to be a championship-level team, so you bring in as much talent as you can. I’m going to compete every single day. Everybody on this team is going to compete for minutes.”
While Kolek was a hero for the Knicks earlier in the season and during their NBA Cup Final win, he’s now been taken out of the rotation. However, depth was an issue for New York previously, and though he hasn’t played recently, having a heat-check player waiting his turn on the bench isn’t the worst thing in the world for Brown.
“Jose’s played, obviously,” Brown said, via The New York Post. “Jose’s played well for us. He’s given us a different look. Tyler’s been awesome, for Year 2. He has a chance to be a good pro, really good pro. He’s just gotta stick with it.”
“We gotta keep trying to help him by finding ways for him to get reps. So today was a good opportunity for us to find a way for him to get a rep.”
For now, the Knicks are 37-21 and third in the Eastern Conference standings. Having Towns playing at the level he did against Chicago will be crucial for a playoff push, but it remains to be seen if he can keep up that pace for multiple months in a row.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
More Heavy on Knicks
Loading more stories