Kyrie Irving threatens haters over Karl-Anthony Towns shade
One New Jersey basketball star has another's back.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving called for a cease of attacks on Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, specifically mentioning those chiding him for 'changing up his tone.'
'Y'all gotta stop making fun of my brother KAT. I'm done with y'all,' Irving said recently on Twitch.
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'Stop making fun of my brother KAT. It's over for that, it's a f—king wrap, I'm letting you know that if you repost that s–t again or meme him up, I'm attacking you. Not like that physically, GTA (popular video game franchise 'Grand Theft Auto'), but I'm attacking you.'
3 Kyrie Irving defended Towns on a recent Twitch stream.
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Towns, born and raised in the Garden State, has been accused by some of code switching, which Brittanica describes as the 'process of shifting from one linguistic code (a language or dialect) to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting.'
Those on social media have posted interviews in which Towns' inflection may change during the segment.
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While it's possible that Irving may have been referring to the vitriol directed at Towns after his inconsistent showing in the playoffs, the second half of Irving's plea to the fans focused on Towns' background.
Towns' mother is Dominican, while his father is black. He was born in Edison, N.J., raised in Piscataway and attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen.
3 Towns had some highs and lows during the postseason.
Jason Szenes / New York Post
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'Y'all gotta leave KAT alone because y'all don't know what it's like to grow up in Jersey and have all of these cultures that you're a part of, trust me on that,' said Irving, who was raised in N.J. 'Jersey is literally 130 miles long, it's (a) very, very small state … but leave him alone. Because he's Dominican, he's black, he grew up in a certain area in Jersey, just like me, and you gotta survive out here. You got many different demographics of people, so you gotta survive out here. I don't agree all the time when he be changing up his tone sometimes, I don't always agree and all that s–t, that s–t be funny, but on a serious note, he is a man, he is my brother and I protect him all the time.'
Towns has found himself under plenty of criticism since the Knicks' season ended in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to his uneven performance this postseason.
While he certainly had some grand moments — Game 4 against the Pistons, Game 6 against the Celtics and Game 3 against the Pacers — he far too often disappeared.
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In Game 6 against the Pacers, he posted a minus-17 rating. Indiana routinely targeted Towns and Jalen Brunson due to their defensive deficiencies.
Some have wondered if the Knicks win a title with two defensive minuses in the starting lineup with Towns and Brunson, and whether that could lead to a possible trade.
However, for all the nitpicking, Towns still earned third-team All-NBA honors and averaged 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds during the regular season.
3 Kyrie Irving and Karl-Anthony Towns in action in 2023.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Towns' fate is one of the Knicks' major decisions this offseason, with the first being who will replace coach Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau broke his silence on his firing Wednesday, while the search is already experiencing some turbulence.
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