The Knicks may still be struggling through a mixed start to the season, but some aspects of their game have been important positives to build on in the coming weeks and months. Perhaps no one kept New York in the win column more than Karl-Anthony Towns‘ dominant offense.
The Knicks acquired Cities with the hope that his shooting ability and dynamics of the five paired with Jalen Brunson could unlock an offense that baffles the league, while the defense would hold enough to make them a true contender. While the latter is still very much in question, even the trades most ardent supporters might have underestimated what a scoring punch Towns would bring.
In 11 games, Towns is averaging 26.5 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists on 54.7 percent from two and 50.8 percent from three. Nearly half of his games have been 30-or-40+ point performances, the Knicks are third in the league in offensive efficiency, and that was before all parties fully clicked.
Let’s take a deep dive into Towns’ offensive impact to see just how high his ceiling and the Knicks are.
Towns is one of the greatest shooting bigs of all time, and that moniker proved itself with his early play. His three-point percentage makes him one of five players converting at that level of accuracy (among players with 30+ attempts on the year), and the only center doing it not named. Nikola Jokic.
Almost all of his attempts were catches from above the break but with varying degrees of difficulty. He showed no resistance to pulling from a few steps behind the arc or with a defender in his space – most have trouble getting out to contest.
Outside of the remarkable efficiency, Towns’ shooting was fundamental in opening up attacking lanes for his teammates. AND Anunoby is on his way to a career year thanks to his ability to drive aggressively without having to worry as much about assistance.
Mikal Bridges‘effective field goal percentage jumps from 45.9 percent to 59.4 percent when Towns is on the floor compared to off. Brunson is capitalizing with his highest production at the rim in years.
Not only does Towns’ spacing benefit his teammates, but it gives him leverage on his own drives. Opposing players are so worried about his jumper, he gets a step up on his strong dribbles to the rim, which he takes advantage of.
Towns is averaging 7.6 drives a game as a Knick — second most on the team — shooting a career-high 61.4 percent from the field on those drives. He also did a solid job of drawing fouls on these takes.
New York is still figuring out when to best use him in the post. Constantly feeding him against mismatches stagnated the offense into some trouble at points, but he showed an effective touch isolating downs.
Where the Knicks are just starting to get ridiculous value out of Towns is as a passer. They run more sets for him as a distribution hub in the high post or over the break, and it pays dividends.
Towns is a crafty, talented passer and has already shown that talent with three games of five assists or more in a Knicks uniform. Expect these to increase as the season progresses and with it his assist numbers.
This may be the most amazing part of Towns’ offensive impact: it hasn’t fully materialized yet. The Knicks have been experimenting with their new roster all season, and the kinks are clearly still being worked out, yet they’re scoring a monstrous 121.2 points per 100 possessions with Towns on the court.
That would put them second in the league, ahead of the Boston Celtics, despite team chemistry being a work in progress and Brunson’s up-and-down start to the year. Once this team and Towns figure it all out, nothing should stop them from leading the league in efficiency.
New York will need to pick up the pace and cut the turnovers to fully maximize their offensive potential, but they have the pieces to do it. Towns has already proven himself a generational offensive talent, the real question is can the Knicks use that to win a championship?
