The New York Knicks have the talent on paper to dominate the Detroit Pistons in their first-round playoff series, but they will need everybody to perform at the top of their game to have a successful run.
Knicks will need Karl-Anthony Towns to perform at his best
That includes All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, who just completed a strong first season in New York. He averaged 24.8 points on 52.6% shooting from the floor and 42% from three while being the second-best rebounder in the league with 12.8 per game.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wrote that Towns is the guy with the most at stake and the player that needs to have a big postseason for the team to go on a deep run.
“After helping the Minnesota Timberwolves to last year’s conference finals as a power forward, Towns must show he can anchor a capable playoff defense at center,” Pelton wrote.
Towns will need to be effective on both ends
Towns’ scoring abilities has helped enhance the Knicks’ offense to heights that they haven’t seen as a franchise. However, his defensive lapses at the five have been a huge concern and have caused the team’s defense as a whole to take a step back from last year.
There have been conversations about the idea of putting Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup and moving Towns to the power forward position to help with that defense. However, it is unlikely that head coach Tom Thibodeau will make a change to a starting five that has played together all season.
Therefore, Towns will be the one who will need to step up on that end of the floor and show that he can be an imposing threat underneath. They need his offense just as much, as he has the capability to take over games and help take pressure off of Jalen Brunson.
Towns will have his first chance to show what he can do on the biggest stage on Saturday when they face the Pistons for Game 1 at 6 P.M. EST.