The Knicks are one win away from getting to the Eastern Conference finals. If they close out the Celtics in Game 6, it will be the first time they have closed out a series in MSG since 1999. To do so, the Knicks need their whole roster to show up, and that starts with optimizing Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns has had a great first year in New York. In the regular season, he averaged 24.4 points per game, along with 12.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He is one of the league's best shooting bigs of all time, and this year was no different, as he shot 42 percent from 3-point range. There is no doubt that he will be on one of the league's All-NBA teams when they are revealed.
The playoffs haven't come as easily for the Knicks' center. Towns is averaging 19.6 points per game, while only shooting 36.8 per cent from three, while attempting more than one fewer three per game than he did in the regular season. On top of that, he has more turnovers than assists and is not known for his defense.
For the Knicks to close out the defending champs, they are going to need Towns to have a playoff-defining moment. They are going to need a game where he dominates on offense and imposes his will the way that only he can. For him to do that, the Knicks have to start putting him in better situations.
The Knicks aren't optimizing him
The struggles Towns has had are not just on him, to be very clear. He plays in a lineup with poor spacing, often sharing the floor with both Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson. On top of that, most of the Knicks' organized offense is not geared towards getting Towns open shots.
Towns is a force to be reckoned with in the post, but because of the Knicks' spacing issues, he often has to deal with multiple defenders. It is not simply that Towns is doubled every time he catches the ball in the post, but the Celtics' bigs are normally sagging off of Hart enough to give help and disrupt shots.
For example, take a look at the play below from Game 1. Horford is "guarding" Hart on the far wing, but is so far off of him that he can easily double Towns in the post and force a shot-clock violation. This is a common occurrence for Towns, and one he has to get used to, unless we see a massive lineup transformation in Game 6 (unlikely).
Towns is a generational talent. The Knicks need to start using him like one. Towns has an incredibly unique ability to stretch the floor from his position, yet too often the Knicks have banished him to stand in the dunker spot or on the block. If they want his shooting to improve, it starts with putting him in a position to succeed.