New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns has not had as productive of a season as he hoped to have. While he has still made a positive impact in some areas, there are other places where he is costing his team some games.
Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns leads a not so great category
Towns leads the league in offensive fouls by a wide margin. He has 48 on the season, with Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Utah Jazz being the next highest with 34 on the season.
Offensive fouls have hurt both Towns and the Knicks a lot this season, with a lot of them coming at critical points in the game. On Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers, he picked up his sixth foul on a moving screen in overtime, taking him out of the game when they really needed him.
The Knicks would go on to lose that game 137-134, and it’s been a constant issue with Towns a lot this season. While he has been a bit better with the fouls of late, he still has his moments where he commits a costly turnover by fouling.
Towns needs to tone down the fouling
Another example is the constant arm hook he gets called for on drives to the basket. He has a bad tendency to hook his arm around a defender’s arm to prevent them from contesting his shot, but the officials see that more often than not and signal the call against Towns.
Towns hasn’t had a friendly whistle all season. At times, he gets mauled underneath the rim to no foul call, but the reaction Towns gives to the officials likely plays a part. He takes exception to some of the no-calls and gives the officials an earful, which will usually result in him not getting the benefit of future calls.
While Towns has made a strong rebounding impact, his drop off in scoring and alarming increase in fouls is certainly a concerning trend. However, he will have an opportunity to turn it all around in the final stretch run of the season, as they will need him badly if they want to achieve their ultimate goal of winning a championship.
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