{"id":702657,"date":"2026-04-07T05:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702657\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T05:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:05:15","slug":"karl-anthony-towns-believes-knicks-sky-high-playoff-expectations-are-a-blessing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702657\/","title":{"rendered":"Karl-Anthony Towns believes Knicks’ sky high playoff expectations are a ‘blessing’"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA \u2014 Two years ago, the Knicks were lovable underdogs.<\/p>\n

A year ago, they were a little less lovable \u2014 a product of exhausting all their draft assets in trades and losing their rough-and-tumble identity \u2014 but they were underdogs, nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018If they make it a six-game series, I\u2019ll be proud of the Knicks,\u2019 \u201d recalled Karl-Anthony Towns of the punditry surrounding last year\u2019s second round against the Celtics.<\/p>\n

Now? They better win. That\u2019s the mandate not only from the outside but also the team owner, James Dolan, who replaced the coach in June and sent a public Finals-or-bust message in January<\/a>. So it doesn\u2019t matter that the Knicks still aren\u2019t betting favorites to win the East, or that they\u2019ll probably enter as the No. 3 seed.<\/p>\n

They either advance past three rounds or they\u2019re a disappointment and Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> becomes the only way out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe perception and standards have obviously changed for us ever since we made that stride last year in the playoffs,\u201d Towns said Monday. \u201cGetting through the first round, we weren\u2019t supposed to make it out of there. Then the second round, we definitely weren\u2019t supposed to be making it out of there. We showed the world that we can beat these teams, especially in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\"Karl-AnthonyKarl-Anthony Towns goes up for a shot as New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson defends during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, USA, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in doing that, we put the antennas up for the rest of the league as well. They know what we can do and on top of that, coming in with the expectations we had this year, finding a way to win the NBA Cup. Even through all the ups and downs, finding ourselves the third seed. The world is not unaware of how good we are. But it\u2019s up to us to execute in a seven-game series and be disciplined and find a way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Towns was wrong about one thing. The Knicks were supposed to beat the Pistons in the first round last year and they succeeded in six games. But then they were projected for a beatdown administered by the Celtics and instead compelled mass celebrations outside of MSG.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s theoretically easier to play freer when unburdened by expectations. But Towns is taking the \u201cpressure is a privilege\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, personally, I\u2019ve been dealing with expectations since before I stepped into the league,\u201d said Towns, the former No. 1 overall draft pick. \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s really the same thing. It\u2019s been the story of my career. Dealing with expectations that are lofty. On top of that, the expectations I have for myself are even higher than what people give me. So I have a lot of work to do. But I\u2019ve been used to it. So it\u2019s a blessing to have pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Karl-AnthonyKarl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks in plain clothes on the bench jokes around with guard Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks during the second half against the Bulls. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n

Beyond the team success and the overflow of glory that would come with an NBA Finals appearance, there\u2019s money at stake for individual players. Towns is eligible for a contract extension after the season. Same with Miles McBride. Meanwhile, Mitchell Robinson, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson and Mohamed Diawara could all be free agents. Players get paid off their postseasons. Just ask Mikal Bridges, who got $150 million after his breakthrough opening two rounds of 2025.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s version of the Knicks \u2014 and Bridges, especially \u2014 doesn\u2019t look as good as the version that beat the Celtics. But momentum is a helluva equalizer.<\/p>\n

And if the Knicks can close the season strong against four straight playoff-bound opponents \u2014 including Monday against the Hawks \u2014 they can carry it into the first round.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can get to that level. We\u2019re really good,\u201d Alvarado said. \u201cWe just need to lock in on the details and stay like that. What really is in our way is ourselves. We just got to stay consistent and confident in who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Better late than never, says Towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe playoffs should\u2019ve started 10 games ago [for us],\u201d the center said. \u201cWe should be building on our standards all year. That\u2019s what the goal was. We have four good games where we can get some good tape, get our coverages right. See how we can execute different coverages, different things. And we could just find different ways to show what we can do, and have adjustments ready to go in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2014 Two years ago, the Knicks were lovable underdogs. A year ago, they were a little less…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,563,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-702657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","10":"tag-knicks","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-knicks","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkknicks","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116361687215053439","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}