During Tuesday's win in Philadelphia, Karl-Anthony Towns had his back to the basket on the left block with big Andre Drummond behind him, but he flipped a no-look pass to teammate Mikal. -Cut to Blaise and made a no-contest layup.
As if they didn't already know, the Knicks learned in Towns' first 10 games with the team that he is a great offensive player, including a deft passing touch for a 7-footer.
“He just watches the game,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think that experience taught him a lot and I think that's his skill set because he can make shots and then he's comfortable away from the basket.”
“He can be put down.” [the ball] You're on the floor, but if you cut it open, he's going to hit you. And guys tend to cut harder when they know they're going to get the ball. His all-round play is great. And he's a lot stronger now than he was seven or eight years ago. Overall growth, understanding of the league, [his] It all comes down to skill set. ”
The four-time All-Star center's assist numbers have actually declined this season entering Wednesday's game against the Bulls. Towns is averaging 2.7 assists in his first 10 games following the offseason trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves. This was the lowest performance in this category since the 2017-18 season, when they allowed 2.4 per game. He also had a career-high 4.8 assists in the 2022-23 season.
But his 1.8 turnovers in the Knicks' 5-5 start is also the lowest turnover total of his career.
“We definitely got a lot of passes and I’m really happy for us that some of those passes worked,” Towns said after Tuesday’s win. “We know there were some things we wanted back within a narrow window.”
The 28-year-old New Jersey native also started Wednesday's game and led the Knicks with 24.5 points and a career-high tying 12.4 points and rebounds per game. His assist numbers will likely increase as he gets used to his teammates.
Even if the Knicks sacrifice some of their inside defense with the departure of free agent Isaiah Hartenstein and the injury absence of Mitchell Robinson, Towns gives them an offensive threat that can score from inside the paint and outside. .
Through Tuesday, he was shooting 51.1 percent from 3-point range and making 2.4 shots per game from beyond the arc.
Thibodeau has implored the Knicks to shoot more from long range this season.
“I think it's still a work in progress,” Thibodeau said. “I think the most important thing is understanding the value of the shot. So what are you good at? Everyone talks about three-ups, but really layups are important too. As many layups as possible and you should get [free-throw] line. Attacking the rim is key. Deep paint decision. Like, what are you doing when the second defender comes? Are you playing right? And that's just as important. ”
Forward OG Anunoby also got off to a quick start from long range, shooting 41.5 percent through 10 games.
“From the time he was drafted to this day, I think he's improved more than any other shooter I've ever seen, and I told him that,” Thibodeau said. said about Anunoby. “He’s a great shooter, phenomenal.
“It's just consistency. He's worked really hard. I think it's probably a byproduct of him getting injured coming out of college, so he's been spending a lot of time shooting and getting knockdowns.” I think he's a shooter.”
