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Knicks path past Hawks starts with Karl-Anthony Towns - New York Daily News
Karl-Anthony Towns respects the Atlanta Hawks. More importantly, he respects their starting center, Onyeka Okongwu. Yet the numbers say otherwise. Towns is averaging 28 points and 13 rebounds over his last nine games against the Hawks. He’s had a game with 19 points, 19 rebounds and five assists, a game with 44 points, and three more games with 30 or more since the trade that brought him from the Minnesota Timberwolves to New York in the summer of 2024. How disrespectful. This is the version of Towns — the dog — the Knicks will need for their first-round series against the Hawks, because Atlanta’s roster is tailor-made to make Jalen Brunson work harder for his buckets. And this season, for Brunson, has been about working smarter, not harder. This season has been about trust — trusting his teammates, beginning with Towns, to share in the burden of lifting the Knicks to an NBA Finals appearance for the first time since 1999. And the Knicks, with a pair of seven-footers, have a clear edge they can lean into in the first round, not just through Towns, but also Mitchell Robinson, who dominates smaller front courts on a nightly basis. Provided the Knicks prioritize exploiting their most obvious mismatch in Round 1. “For the most part right now, this whole matchup is basically on-paper,” Brunson said after practice at the team’s Tarrytown training facility on Wednesday. “So we gotta go out there and just do what we gotta do, and obviously we want to take care of business. It’s going to take one game at a time, and it’s not going to be easy, whatsoever.” It won’t be easy — not at all. But it should be decisive. The Knicks are the better team than the Atlanta Hawks. And they’re not the same Knicks teams of years past — the ones that unraveled when defenses ratcheted up the pressure on New York’s All-Star captain. No. Brunson is a willing passer entering the playoffs on the hottest playmaking run of his career. Which is why confidence should be at an all-time high — not just to get through Round 1, but maybe something more. Maybe to punch the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance in more than a quarter-century. The Knicks, beginning with Brunson, Towns and head coach Mike Brown, won’t look that far ahead. The Hawks pose enough problems as is. This is a team that traded away perennial All-Star Trae Young and still had enough firepower, size and defensive length to nearly steal a game from the Knicks in a 98-95 loss on April 6. After that game, Hawks head coach Qui...
Karl-Anthony Towns' chance to define his Knicks legacy is here
The Knicks need Karl-Anthony Towns to be a consistent dominant force against the Hawks and throughout the playoffs. Jason Szenes for New York Post The Knicks need KATlanta to reemerge all series against the Hawks. There is perhaps more pressure on Karl-Anthony Towns than any other Knicks player. Jalen Brunson, for the most part, is a known commodity. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges’ roles are pretty rigid, playing off Brunson and Towns’ lead. Coach Mike Brown earlier in the year explicitly set the pecking order — Brunson first, Towns second, everyone else after that. Towns’ lows have been very low and his highs very high. The volatility in his performances has been a talking point all season. There have been times when he only winds up with a handful of shots and you hardly even notice his presence on the court — he’s even been benched at the end of a few games.
Knicks Legend Argues Karl-Anthony Towns' 'Underrated' Ability Is 'What ...
Karl-Anthony Towns has played for the New York Knicks for a couple of seasons now. So far, he has played a pivotal role in the Knicks' success. Last year, Towns' first season in New York, the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. It was clear that the big man was the missing piece the team needed to make their step in the right direction. A former ...
Karl-Anthony Towns Reveals the "Extreme Wellness" Tools ... - Yahoo
Karl-Anthony Towns, the 30-year-old NBA All-Star and New York Knicks player, works hard to stay healthy and in gameday shape.
