New York Knicks All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns likened the team’s struggle to find consistency this season to the glaring learning curve that the LeBron James-led Miami Heat went through at the turn of the previous decade after losing 108-100 to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns: Consistency will come soon
Per SNY, Towns had this to say about his Knicks being hot and cold on the campaign thus far:
“Miami Heat years ago with LeBron had a whole year it took before they figured out how to put a banner up,” Towns said. “I don’t have a crystal ball,” the Knicks star continued. “I can tell you that every day we’re working to be the best version of ourselves.”
Towns compares Knicks’ learning curve to Big 3 Heat
The Heat had a fear-inducing big three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. They were expected to win many championships, but failed to do win in their first season together. This season, the Knicks have a star-studded cast of their own that few teams rival in the talent department.
Yet, New York has looked like the best unit in the NBA on some nights this season and like a grossly underachieving one on others. Such was the case in their wins over the Heat (Oct. 30), Milwaukee Bucks (Nov. 8), and Toronto Raptors on Monday, and conversely, in their most recent loss to the Hawks on Wednesday.
Knicks shot poorly & showed weaknesses vs. Hawks
The Knicks were inefficient against Atlanta. They shot a subpar 43 percent from the field. New York could not find their stroke from outside, having shot 26 percent from the three-point line. Their aggression was not up to snuff, as they only made it to the charity stripe 15 times and converted a paltry 60 percent of those free-throw looks.
Josh Hart was the only Knicks player to exceed 20 points on the affair and the bench continued to struggle, combining for 14 points. Their defense held the Hawks to poor shooting metrics across the board as well, but had its share of shortcomings that contributed to the loss.
All in all, the Knicks may need some more time to figure out exactly how they’ll operate on offense with their many mouths to feed, similar to the way the Heat from 2010-2014 decided to give James the keys to the offense after Wade asserted himself in their first season together, and execute up to their potential on defense to strive for a title come June.
