The Knicks' pending visit to Minnesota clearly marks the return of Karl-Anthony Towns to the target center, but it will be the first time Julius Randle will face his old team after his blockbuster September trade with the Timberwolves. becomes.
The three-time All-Star power forward did not play in the preseason game at the Garden, where Donte DiVincenzo got into an altercation with Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson. .
DiVincenzo has struggled since the transfer (31.9 percent shooting from 3-point range this season), and Randle has missed the first 25 games since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last January that ultimately required surgery. He averages 20.1 points per game.
“Jules is a great player. He can do it all,” Knicks forward OG Anunoby said. Anunoby will likely guard Randle on Thursday night. “Pass, shoot, drive. He's a great player.”
Randle and Anunoby played just 14 games together, although the Knicks went 12-2 last season after being acquired from the Raptors in late December.
Anunoby also went down with an injury in late January and underwent elbow surgery, but returned just before the start of the playoffs.
Randle replaced Towns at power forward alongside three-time All-Star center Rudy Gobert.
Towns played the No. 4 position with the Timberwolves last season, then moved back to midfield with the Knicks.
“They're big. Even for Orlando, we faced a little bit of that,” Tom Thibodeau said, referring to Sunday's road win over the Magic. “So it's not just the first part, it's going to be the last part of the defense, the strongest part of the defense.
“Challenging shots, going for rebounds. You're talking about Gobert, but Julius is a great offensive rebounder. Then you have Naz Reid, you have [Anthony] Crashing Edwards and you too. [Jaden] McDaniels is very athletic, so not being able to communicate with us could be a problem. ”
Towns similarly caused problems for opposing teams throughout his first season in New York, posting 24.8 points and a career-high and league-best 13.9 rebounds per game.
Asked Tuesday if this was the best play of his 10-year NBA career, the four-time All-Star said: I was able to do more, do more, and play better. But that's not the case. It's just the role I play is different. I have a different role. Like I said, I just want to be a superstar in my role, whatever that role is for the team, and I was asked to be a five-man here. And I just want to be the best I can be. ”
Thibodeau also coached Towns early in his career with the Timberwolves and said the New Jersey player is a stronger, more experienced player than his previous time together.
But Thibodeau stopped short of saying the 7-footer “exceeded expectations” with the Knicks.
“That's a great question. I think I had pretty high expectations for him,” Thibodeau said. “When we got him as a young player, I knew he was a great rebounder, and I felt he would be able to adapt to moving back to the center position and then back to the offense, where he always , whatever you asked him to do, he always did it.”
Anunoby similarly wouldn't say Towns is better than advertised.
“I don't think he surpassed them. We knew he was a great player,” Anunoby added. “We played against him for years. We knew how capable he was and how talented he was. So this is not surprising.
“I'm sure he's been stretched before, but yeah, he impresses us every day. He's a great teammate.”
