The New York Knicks needed a bounce-back win. With the Brooklyn Nets on the schedule, it was all but guaranteed to come on Monday. The home team came through with the much-needed victory, even setting a franchise record for margin of victory. In a sport of runs, though, it's rare that any team has a perfect game. Potentially the only moments of Monday that New York would truly like to re-do were the two times that Karl-Anthony Towns was called for an offensive foul. He's on track to lead the league for a third-straight season, but it's an interesting situation that requires nuance.
Towns' biggest problem this season might not be his defense
Towns had 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal in just 20 minutes of play against the Nets. Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges played just 25 minutes each, with the Knicks not needing Herculean performances from their starters in the record-setting win.
Towns also had two turnovers. Despite his crucial contributions to that historic victory, the two offensive fouls on which those turnovers were recorded ended up being the story of his night.
Despite his incredible offensive skillset, Towns has a reputation for being a poor defender. It's arguably the biggest thing holding him back from being one of the best players in the entire league.
If he were able to impose his will on the defensive side of the game in the same way that he terrorizes defenses with his combination of handles, shooting, touch at the rim, and overall feel for the game, he would likely already be one of the greatest big men of all time.
Why Towns is the most misunderstood NBA star
However, the modern NBA is becoming increasingly geared toward a style of basketball that prioritizes offense and high-scoring affairs for fans to enjoy. As a result, there are more household NBA stars that often opt out of defense than there are legitimate two-way superstars.
For various reasons – some unfair to Towns, others empirically derived from the decade that basketball fans have spent watching his game, and one simply being the fact that he plays center – he catches more flack for his lack of defensive prowess than many other star players.
His struggles this season have much more to do with a relatively subpar first half of the season both around the rim and behind the 3-point line than anything defensively. This is also on track to be the third straight season in which Towns has led the league in offensive fouls.
The Knicks knew what they were getting defensively when they traded for Towns. That's why they also acquired Bridges and OG Anunoby that same year. They showed in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals that this can all work.
Knicks, Towns are close to reversing the narratives
Towns just needs to control what he can, and work on his approach to his drives to the basket. Something isn't connecting between his intent and what the referees are seeing. It might not entirely be Towns' fault. Fans won't care who's at fault if a call, questionable or not, causes the Knicks to drop a big game.
Mike Brown said after the game that Towns is a "smart" player who he trusts to figure it out, but also subtly criticized the officials for getting the calls wrong. That's the kind of support fans wanted to see from coach to player. Hopefully for all parties involved, things start changing for the better on the court.
Towns is so close to putting it all together and consistently helping New York win more significant games, just like he did in the NBA Cup Championship against the San Antonio Spurs. Cutting back on the offensive fouls could be the final step to unlocking his potential as a destructively talented, aggressive, and skilled big man.