Karl-Anthony Towns is currently endearing himself to New York Knicks fans all over again. From steadier offensive production to more engaged defensive efforts, he’s become the bellwether for this team’s trek back up the contender rankings. And Jayson Tatum’s return to the Boston Celtics isn’t about to stop him—or, for that matter, the Knicks as a whole.
Towns has already made this much clear. Asked about Beantown getting back its best player for the stretch run, he offered a diplomatic congratulations to Tatum, before unpacking the perfect response to the “Should New York be worried?” crowd.
“I mean, it doesn’t matter to me because at the end of the day, if we’re not executing and playing at a high level and being disciplined, it doesn’t matter who’s on the court. We’ll lose,” he said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “We’ve got to be our best version. You can’t be worrying about anyone else. We need to worry [about] what’s in-house first.”
You really do love to see it, hear it, read it, etc. Because after all, Towns is right.
Jayson Tatum’s return changes little for the Knicks
Without question, the Celtics are more dangerous now that Tatum has re-entered the mix. He clearly doesn’t have his jump-shot legs back, but that’s to be expected after roughly 10 months away. Boston will be better off even if he works himself into 70 percent of his peak form by the playoffs.
This matters to the Knicks. It just doesn’t mean anything more for them than any other team.
People already started writing them out of the top-contender clique before Tatum’s return. They don’t ferry a heavier burden of proof just because one of their biggest rivals is closer to being whole again.
Let’s also not forget that the Knicks last year were on the verge of getting out to a 3-1 series lead over a better version of Tatum and the Celtics before he suffered his Achilles injury. Simulate that series all over again, and maybe you get a smattering of different outcomes. But the idea that a more limited version of Tatum undermines the Knicks more than their fairly recent spiral did, has, or will is, quite frankly, blasphemous.
KAT’s message aligns with the Knicks’ play
It is easier for Towns to speak like this, and for us to buy what he’s saying, when the Knicks are rolling. Recent blowout victories over the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets are feel-good Ws. Even the tightly contested loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder was proof New York can hang with the very best when its offense is lightyears from its pinnacle.
Yet, this isn’t about recency bias. This team has the macro profile of not just a contender, but a top-tier title threat.
Following their Friday night victory in Denver, the Knicks now have the league’s best net rating against top-10 squads. Both their offense and defense rank in the top five of these matchups. The Detroit Pistons are the only other team that can say the same. They are also the lone squad with a higher winning percentage versus top-10 units.
Anyone who has watched the Knicks regularly this season knows they have their flaws. They also know this group’s apex is tantalizing when they reach it. To that end, the ceiling remains unchanged. Their best-case outcome is winning it all. That was true before the Celtics got Tatum back, and it isn’t any less true now that he’s returned.