Knicks are learning that Karl-Anthony Towns is far more than just a scorer
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns dunks as Nets forward Noah Clowney looks on in the first half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
He’s big, he’s strong and he can score from basically anywhere on the court.
Tom Thibodeau, who coached Karl-Anthony Towns early in his career in Minnesota, remembers being almost awestruck by the way he could knock down shots.
“I think his second year, he was averaging 25, 26 points a game,’’ Thibodeau said. “I just remember watching him in practice. He would be doing shooting drills and wouldn’t miss any. Right? I was like, ‘This guy can really shoot.’ ”
What Towns couldn’t do then but clearly has a flair for now is set up his teammates with the kind of no-look passes usually reserved for a point guard.
Towns, who missed Friday’s game against the Nets with a bruised left knee, returned Sunday to help lead the Knicks to a 114-104 victory over the Nets at Madison Square Garden. He finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
It marked the fourth time this season that the 7-footer has finished a game with at least six assists.
“I think his passing has really evolved,” Thibodeau said. “He’s always been a team-first guy, but now he really sees things. He understands what the defense is trying to do. He sees the whole floor now. Initially, like most young guys, the vision was more narrow. Now he sees more than one guy. He sees everyone, and that goes a long way.”
Towns described his maturation a little more succinctly.
“I think I’m the best version of myself that I’ve been in my career,” he said with a smile.
Towns said it’s no coincidence that he wears No. 32, the same number worn by triple-double machine Magic Johnson. Towns may have grown up in New Jersey, but Johnson was his favorite player, and he wanted to model his game after him.
“I was a big fan. Just watching the way he made his teammates better,” Towns said.
Towns said he also got to talk to another big man who was an excellent passer, Arvydas Sabonis, when he was visiting Venezuela. He picked his brain about his passing ability.
Towns said he likes to have fun with his passes, getting a little showy. On one assist Sunday, he practically did a 360 in the air before passing.
“I don’t know if that was the best no-look,” he said with a laugh. “But it definitely looked cool.”
Towns’ skill set has given the Knicks’ offense a different look, and the team is still adjusting to playing with this kind of big man. With their second victory over the Nets in three days, the Knicks (7-6) have won two games in a row for only the second time this season. A win over Washington on Monday night would give them their longest winning streak of the season.
It was an impressive win for the Knicks in that they were able to survive a subpar offensive performance by Jalen Brunson and pull out the win with balanced scoring. Four players — Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges — scored at least 20 points. Two nights after scoring 37 points, Brunson had only 12 and shot 3-for-14.
“It’s nice to have a talented enough team where other people can step up,” Hart said. “Then there’s not so much pressure on [Jalen] to knock down shots and initiate everything. Sometimes he can take a couple of breaths and we can still hoop.”
The Knicks definitely were looking to diversify their offense when they added Towns and Bridges during the summer. The Knicks were projected by almost everyone to be contenders this season. And while the early going has been a bit rough, they players seem to be getting more and more comfortable with one another.
One of the things they are learning is that Towns is that he has the ability to make the right pass.
“I thought he was just a shooter and a scorer,” Hart said. “He’s kind of surprised me with his passes. He’s a willing passer and we like to play through him. He likes to make sure the passes connect. He can be as flashy as he wants as long as they come through.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
