Opponents’ plan for Towns in Mike Brown’s offense may already be obvious

Many are theorizing that part of Mike Brown's offensive scheme for the Knicks will involve Karl-Anthony Towns as more of a play-making hub. While it sounds great in theory, it could be disastrous for the Knicks, as teams will likely double-team Towns and dare him to be able to make the right pass out of it.

The reason that so many people have clamored that Brown will turn Towns into more of a passer is that he loves bigs who can make things happen. He was the assistant coach in Golden State when Draymond Green was used as a point-forward, and the Kings' offense flowed through Domantas Sabonis as their initiating hub.

Towns has some highlight-reel passes (see below), but is rarely thought of as a playmaker as much as a shot-maker. If Brown wants to utilize him as a hub in the high post or above the break, his decision-making and passing ability will be put under a microscope.

Teams will likely double Towns a lot

If Brown does opt to put Towns into that position, it is likely that opponents will double him a lot, at least until he proves he can make the right read at a consistent level.

Towns has been doubled a lot in recent years. In fact, out of players who have at least 5,000 frontcourt touches in the last five seasons, Towns was doubled on the fourth-highest percentage of his frontcourt touches, at just over 25 percent.

Last season in particular, Towns got doubled the third-most in the league. One of the reasons that he gets doubled a lot is because he is a dominant scorer, and few defenders have the ability to deal with his strength and finishing ability around the rim. Another reason he gets doubled a lot is that teams know that Towns struggles to pass out of it.

Of the 10 players who got doubled the most in the frontcourt last season, no one passed out of them less than Towns or turned the ball over more than Towns. According to league tracking data, Towns only passed the ball 21 percent of the time when doubled in the frontcourt and turned the ball over nine percent.

If Towns is going to be looked at to initiate more of the offense, those numbers won't cut it. Teams are going to bring help when he has the ball, and he is going to have to prove he can read them; otherwise, Brown's plan will have to change.