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USA Today
03-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nets ranked as worst team in Eastern Conference by NBA.com
The Brooklyn Nets were one of the more active teams in the NBA this offseason as they are looking to tweak their roster while planning for the future. Brooklyn is still in the early stages of its rebuild so the team isn't necessarily looking to make it to the playoffs next season, but the view of the team from pundits suggests that next season could be a tough one. John Schuhmann recently published his power rankings for every team in the Eastern Conference and in his list, he had the Nets ranked as the worst team in the conference following their offseason moves. The most notable moves that Brooklyn made was selecting five players in the 2025 NBA Draft and trading Cam Johnson to the Denver Nuggets for forward Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick. One of the more interesting parts about the Nets' performance during the 2024-25 season is that they finished with a 26-56 record despite beginning the campaign with a 9-10 record, putting them on pace to finish slightly below 40 wins on the season. Given that Brooklyn was hoping to get a high draft pick in the 2025 Draft, they eventually traded Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors to start what would eventually be a harder push to the rebuild. Whether or not the Nets are hoping to improve on their record from the 2024-25 campaign, they are still hoping to improve on both sides of the floor, especially when it comes to efficiency on the offensive end. "They took 24% of their shots, the league's highest rate, in the last six seconds of the shot clock, according to Second Spectrum tracking. Their effective field goal percentage of 44.2% in the last six seconds ranked 25th," Schuhmann noted. As it stands, the Nets will be heading into next season with Nic Claxton at center, Porter at one of the forward spots, Egor Demin at point guard, and presumably Cam Thomas at the shooting guard spot. Brooklyn will be hoping that their rookies and young players make strides over the course of what could be another rough season from a wins and losses perspective. "Over the last 20 years, the 2014-15 Sixers had the highest percentage of their minutes (37%) that went to rookies, and only one of their nine rookies was a first-round pick. The Nets could certainly challenge that mark and maximize their odds for a higher selection than they got this year," Schuhmann wrote.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can the Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns back on track against the Pistons before it's too late?
Can the Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns back on track against the Pistons before it's too late? It's difficult to speed Jalen Brunson up. The Knicks' All-Star point guard is pretty damn good at operating at his own pace on the court, controlling the tempo of a game and, when necessary, pivoting from one angle of approach to another. He's got that same control off the court, too. After New York's loss to visiting Detroit in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Monday — a defeat that handed the precocious Pistons home-court advantage in the best-of-seven set, which resumes Thursday in Game 3 at Little Caesars Arena — Brunson fielded a question about how he'd assess his offensive performance in the defeat. 'I feel like I'm getting to spots and missing shots I normally make,' Brunson said. Brunson then took a long pause, weighing his words, considering the potential angles of approach. And then: the pivot. 'I feel like it could be a lot better,' he added. Brunson declined to offer specifics on that count, but after a night that saw the Knicks finish with just 15 assists on 34 made baskets in Game 2 — 11 fewer than their Game 1 win and their lowest total of the season — en route to their third-least-efficient offensive performance of the campaign, the main avenue for improvement seemed clear as day, laid bare by a number louder than a bomb: Karl-Anthony Towns — the All-Star floor-spacing center whom New York had swung a blockbuster deal to import on the eve of training camp with the express purpose of making the Knicks' offense sing — had a grand total of zero shot attempts over the final 17 minutes of the game. And that's not a tune this Knicks team can dance to. Less touches for Towns Towns, who averaged 59.6 touches per game during the regular season and got 56 in Game 1, according to Second Spectrum tracking, finished with just 36 in Game 2 — his second-lowest total of the season, according to Jared Dubin of Last Night in Basketball. Maybe Towns wasn't trying to force the action … but that's at least partially because there wasn't much action for him to force. All told, Towns attempted 11 shots in Game 2 — just the ninth time this season he got up fewer than a dozen shots. Three of those came in New York's first three games of the season, right after his arrival, prompting Brunson to tell reporters it was his responsibility to "make sure that we're all on the same page and to make sure everyone's eating." After that, feeding Towns became a priority, with the pair developing one of the league's most potent pick-and-roll partnerships and fueling New York's rise up the offensive efficiency charts. The big fella's been eating less of late, though. Since Brunson's return from an ankle sprain late in the season, Towns' usage rate is 23.3% — down from 27.2% before the return. Before the All-Star break, Brunson assisted on Towns' baskets 1.8 times per game; since mid-February, including these first two playoff games, that's down to 1.1 per contest. It makes sense that the dimes are down, though; so are the overall number of passes. Prior to the All-Star break, Brunson was passing to KAT 10.3 times per game, with those feeds accounting for nearly 18% of the Knicks captain's total passes. After the break, that dropped to 8.4 per game, just under 14% of the whole. And through two games against Detroit, Brunson has passed to Towns just 12 times, resulting in a mere two assists. Sometimes, the issue appears to be Brunson — who led the league in time of possession during the regular season and has increased his take by a minute and a half through two postseason outings — choosing to charge ahead into the teeth of the defense rather than spray the ball out to a waiting 42% 3-point shooter: Sometimes, it seems like New York's system is just operating the way its architect intended. Brunson finished fourth in the NBA in usage rate last season. While that dropped to 20th this season after the arrivals of Towns and Mikal Bridges, Brunson still led the league in 'clutch' usage rate, finishing an eye-popping 42.4% of New York's offensive possessions in the final five minutes of close games to earn NBA Clutch Player of the Year on Wednesday. When it matters most, Thibodeau wants the ball in Brunson's hands … and in the playoffs, it always matters most. That can leave complementary players — even ones as gifted and decorated as Towns, a likely soon-to-be three-time All-NBA selection who has averaged more than 20 points per game for nine straight seasons — on the fringes of the frame, watching Brunson operate at the center. Towns averaged fewer 3-point attempts per game this season (4.7) than he had since 2018-19 in Minnesota — the last season during which he was coached by Thibodeau. The last time he hoisted fewer than three triples per game in the postseason was in the opening round in 2018 … when he spent much of his time in the series drawing a switch and then spacing to the corner. During that series, Thibodeau emphasized the importance of making the right reads and trusting the pass. Towns talked about executing the game plan to the best of his ability. Asked in the locker room after Game 2 what he can do to make more of an offensive impact, Towns answered, 'I don't know. I was executing what we said we wanted to do.' How the Pistons are making it tough on Towns Towns offered similar refrains in response to a pair of other questions, including one about whether the Pistons were doing anything different defensively to short-circuit him; he said he'd need to look back at the film to tell for sure. One thing they did, that they've done since the start of Game 1, and that a number of teams have done against Towns and the Knicks: toggle the defensive matchups by putting power forward Tobias Harris, who mostly checked OG Anunoby during the regular season, on Towns in a move aimed at allowing Detroit to switch Brunson-Towns pick-and-rolls — or, better yet, snuff them out altogether. Putting point-of-attack pests Ausar Thompson and Dennis Schröder on Brunson has given Detroit both a physical presence and the ability to deftly navigate ball screens. And putting Harris on Towns gives the Pistons a quicker defender to stick with Towns without sacrificing strength. In Game 2, especially, Harris prioritized doing his work early, looking to either deny Towns a clean catch or push him an extra couple of feet away from the basket before receiving it and largely staying attached to him when he set ball screens to try to keep the Knicks center from ever getting a look on the pop: At the same time, putting center Jalen Duren, who primarily guarded Towns during the regular season, on Knicks forward Josh Hart, has allowed the Pistons' center to sag off the most inconsistent long-distance shooter in New York's starting five and spend more time parked in and around the lane to dissuade drives, contest interior shots and corral defensive rebounds. 'When they do that, it's different,' Brunson said of the sort of cross-matching Detroit's doing. 'We have a guy who's probably going to be a smaller guy guarding KAT, so KAT's able to either take him to the post or play him out on the perimeter, whichever he wants — because that's his game, that's what he's able to do. And Josh is going to read the defense. He's going to set screens. He's gonna get to the short pocket, and he loves to make plays for others. 'And so, it's all about kind of reading what the defense does. It doesn't matter who's on who. Everybody's got to attack what we see as an advantage for us.' In practice, though, it has tended to provide an advantage for the defense. Opponents have cross-matched on Towns more and more as the season has progressed, prompting a reduction in how often he sets ball screens, how many pick-and-pop 3s he gets and the overall effectiveness of New York's offense. A Knicks attack that ranked second in the NBA in points scored per possession at the end of December ranked 16th after the start of January, with lineups featuring Brunson and Towns scoring about two fewer points per 100 possessions in 2025 than they had before the calendar flipped. The Knicks can counter it in part by repeatedly putting Towns' size and shotmaking to work against whichever smaller defender he draws, as they did throughout Game 1, when he scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting … … and on a handful of possessions early in Game 2, with New York clearing out one side with shooters spotting up opposite Towns, daring Detroit to either guard him straight up or bring Duren on a double-team, potentially opening up the glass or back-door cuts: Towns has the tools to counteract that kind of coverage. Thibodeau can make it easier for him by running some cross-screens as Towns goes from block to block, aiming to briefly dislodge Harris and keep him from pushing KAT out, allowing KAT to get deeper and more advantageous post position. 'Obviously, I'm always trying to get involved as much as possible,' Towns said after Game 2. 'Whether that's post-up — you know, I've worked tremendously hard on my game to have an outside and inside game. I think I've proven that to the world, year in and year out.' The question Thibodeau's likely mulling over, though: Can Towns do the hard work consistently and efficiently enough to justify diverting a larger share of the offense away from Brunson? Game 3 adjustments? If the cross-matching continues to be a problem, Thibodeau could look to respond in kind, trying a configuration that replaces Hart, who shot 33.3% from deep this season and has taken only three triples in two games, with Deuce McBride, a superior shooter who hit 37% of his long balls this season. Putting a fifth shooter that defenses have to respect on the floor would make it harder for Duren to roam and play free safety, which could lead Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff to toggle the matchups back to having KAT guarded by a center, potentially unlocking the Brunson-Towns two-man game. On one hand, Thibodeau's probably unlikely to flip that particular switch. He relies on Hart's rebounding, physicality, toughness and defensive versatility too much to drastically minimize his minutes, and he didn't show much interest in test-driving the lineup featuring McBride alongside Brunson, Towns, Anunoby and Bridges during the regular season; it played just 42 minutes. (Playing smaller also wouldn't figure to address the rebounding concerns Thibs harped on after the Game 2 loss; more minutes for the Towns-Mitchell Robinson pairing could be on the way, though that wouldn't figure to change the dynamics of the Harris cross-match.) On the other, though, a surprise rotation adjustment wouldn't be out of the question in an environment where every single game is its own unique battle. 'Each game is different,' Thibodeau said. 'You have to reset. Whether you win or lose, you reset and get ready for the next one. You have to understand what goes into winning.' What goes into winning for these Knicks is finding ways to maximize the benefit of having one of the best big-man shooters of all time. They've struggled to do that for months, and it cost them dearly in Game 2. Coach, captain and center have to come together to find better answers — quick. 'It's on me to make sure I set the table,' Brunson said after Game 2. 'So I'll go back and I'll figure out what I need to do, we'll have conversations, and we'll come back better for Game 3.'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can the Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns back on track against the Pistons before it's too late?
Can the Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns back on track against the Pistons before it's too late? It's difficult to speed Jalen Brunson up. The Knicks' All-Star point guard is pretty damn good at operating at his own pace on the court, controlling the tempo of a game and, when necessary, pivoting from one angle of approach to another. He's got that same control off the court, too. After New York's loss to visiting Detroit in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Monday — a defeat that handed the precocious Pistons home-court advantage in the best-of-seven set, which resumes Thursday in Game 3 at Little Caesars Arena — Brunson fielded a question about how he'd assess his offensive performance in the defeat. 'I feel like I'm getting to spots and missing shots I normally make,' Brunson said. Brunson then took a long pause, weighing his words, considering the potential angles of approach. And then: the pivot. 'I feel like it could be a lot better,' he added. Brunson declined to offer specifics on that count, but after a night that saw the Knicks finish with just 15 assists on 34 made baskets in Game 2 — 11 fewer than their Game 1 win and their lowest total of the season — en route to their third-least-efficient offensive performance of the campaign, the main avenue for improvement seemed clear as day, laid bare by a number louder than a bomb: Karl-Anthony Towns — the All-Star floor-spacing center whom New York had swung a blockbuster deal to import on the eve of training camp with the express purpose of making the Knicks' offense sing — had a grand total of zero shot attempts over the final 17 minutes of the game. And that's not a tune this Knicks team can dance to. Less touches for Towns Towns, who averaged 59.6 touches per game during the regular season and got 56 in Game 1, according to Second Spectrum tracking, finished with just 36 in Game 2 — his second-lowest total of the season, according to Jared Dubin of Last Night in Basketball. Maybe Towns wasn't trying to force the action … but that's at least partially because there wasn't much action for him to force. All told, Towns attempted 11 shots in Game 2 — just the ninth time this season he got up fewer than a dozen shots. Three of those came in New York's first three games of the season, right after his arrival, prompting Brunson to tell reporters it was his responsibility to "make sure that we're all on the same page and to make sure everyone's eating." After that, feeding Towns became a priority, with the pair developing one of the league's most potent pick-and-roll partnerships and fueling New York's rise up the offensive efficiency charts. The big fella's been eating less of late, though. Since Brunson's return from an ankle sprain late in the season, Towns' usage rate is 23.3% — down from 27.2% before the return. Before the All-Star break, Brunson assisted on Towns' baskets 1.8 times per game; since mid-February, including these first two playoff games, that's down to 1.1 per contest. It makes sense that the dimes are down, though; so are the overall number of passes. Prior to the All-Star break, Brunson was passing to KAT 10.3 times per game, with those feeds accounting for nearly 18% of the Knicks captain's total passes. After the break, that dropped to 8.4 per game, just under 14% of the whole. And through two games against Detroit, Brunson has passed to Towns just 12 times, resulting in a mere two assists. Sometimes, the issue appears to be Brunson — who led the league in time of possession during the regular season and has increased his take by a minute and a half through two postseason outings — choosing to charge ahead into the teeth of the defense rather than spray the ball out to a waiting 42% 3-point shooter: To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so. Sometimes, it seems like New York's system is just operating the way its architect intended. Brunson finished fourth in the NBA in usage rate last season. While that dropped to 20th this season after the arrivals of Towns and Mikal Bridges, Brunson still led the league in 'clutch' usage rate, finishing an eye-popping 42.4% of New York's offensive possessions in the final five minutes of close games to earn NBA Clutch Player of the Year on Wednesday. When it matters most, Thibodeau wants the ball in Brunson's hands … and in the playoffs, it always matters most. That can leave complementary players — even ones as gifted and decorated as Towns, a likely soon-to-be three-time All-NBA selection who has averaged more than 20 points per game for nine straight seasons — on the fringes of the frame, watching Brunson operate at the center. Towns averaged fewer 3-point attempts per game this season (4.7) than he had since 2018-19 in Minnesota — the last season during which he was coached by Thibodeau. The last time he hoisted fewer than three triples per game in the postseason was in the opening round in 2018 … when he spent much of his time in the series drawing a switch and then spacing to the corner. During that series, Thibodeau emphasized the importance of making the right reads and trusting the pass. Towns talked about executing the game plan to the best of his ability. Asked in the locker room after Game 2 what he can do to make more of an offensive impact, Towns answered, 'I don't know. I was executing what we said we wanted to do.' How the Pistons are making it tough on Towns Towns offered similar refrains in response to a pair of other questions, including one about whether the Pistons were doing anything different defensively to short-circuit him; he said he'd need to look back at the film to tell for sure. One thing they did, that they've done since the start of Game 1, and that a number of teams have done against Towns and the Knicks: toggle the defensive matchups by putting power forward Tobias Harris, who mostly checked OG Anunoby during the regular season, on Towns in a move aimed at allowing Detroit to switch Brunson-Towns pick-and-rolls — or, better yet, snuff them out altogether. Putting point-of-attack pests Ausar Thompson and Dennis Schröder on Brunson has given Detroit both a physical presence and the ability to deftly navigate ball screens. And putting Harris on Towns gives the Pistons a quicker defender to stick with Towns without sacrificing strength. In Game 2, especially, Harris prioritized doing his work early, looking to either deny Towns a clean catch or push him an extra couple of feet away from the basket before receiving it and largely staying attached to him when he set ball screens to try to keep the Knicks center from ever getting a look on the pop: To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so. At the same time, putting center Jalen Duren, who primarily guarded Towns during the regular season, on Knicks forward Josh Hart, has allowed the Pistons' center to sag off the most inconsistent long-distance shooter in New York's starting five and spend more time parked in and around the lane to dissuade drives, contest interior shots and corral defensive rebounds. 'When they do that, it's different,' Brunson said of the sort of cross-matching Detroit's doing. 'We have a guy who's probably going to be a smaller guy guarding KAT, so KAT's able to either take him to the post or play him out on the perimeter, whichever he wants — because that's his game, that's what he's able to do. And Josh is going to read the defense. He's going to set screens. He's gonna get to the short pocket, and he loves to make plays for others. 'And so, it's all about kind of reading what the defense does. It doesn't matter who's on who. Everybody's got to attack what we see as an advantage for us.' In practice, though, it has tended to provide an advantage for the defense. Opponents have cross-matched on Towns more and more as the season has progressed, prompting a reduction in how often he sets ball screens, how many pick-and-pop 3s he gets and the overall effectiveness of New York's offense. A Knicks attack that ranked second in the NBA in points scored per possession at the end of December ranked 16th after the start of January, with lineups featuring Brunson and Towns scoring about two fewer points per 100 possessions in 2025 than they had before the calendar flipped. The Knicks can counter it in part by repeatedly putting Towns' size and shotmaking to work against whichever smaller defender he draws, as they did throughout Game 1, when he scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting … To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so. … and on a handful of possessions early in Game 2, with New York clearing out one side with shooters spotting up opposite Towns, daring Detroit to either guard him straight up or bring Duren on a double-team, potentially opening up the glass or back-door cuts: To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so. Towns has the tools to counteract that kind of coverage. Thibodeau can make it easier for him by running some cross-screens as Towns goes from block to block, aiming to briefly dislodge Harris and keep him from pushing KAT out, allowing KAT to get deeper and more advantageous post position. 'Obviously, I'm always trying to get involved as much as possible,' Towns said after Game 2. 'Whether that's post-up — you know, I've worked tremendously hard on my game to have an outside and inside game. I think I've proven that to the world, year in and year out.' The question Thibodeau's likely mulling over, though: Can Towns do the hard work consistently and efficiently enough to justify diverting a larger share of the offense away from Brunson? Game 3 adjustments? If the cross-matching continues to be a problem, Thibodeau could look to respond in kind, trying a configuration that replaces Hart, who shot 33.3% from deep this season and has taken only three triples in two games, with Deuce McBride, a superior shooter who hit 37% of his long balls this season. Putting a fifth shooter that defenses have to respect on the floor would make it harder for Duren to roam and play free safety, which could lead Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff to toggle the matchups back to having KAT guarded by a center, potentially unlocking the Brunson-Towns two-man game. On one hand, Thibodeau's probably unlikely to flip that particular switch. He relies on Hart's rebounding, physicality, toughness and defensive versatility too much to drastically minimize his minutes, and he didn't show much interest in test-driving the lineup featuring McBride alongside Brunson, Towns, Anunoby and Bridges during the regular season; it played just 42 minutes. (Playing smaller also wouldn't figure to address the rebounding concerns Thibs harped on after the Game 2 loss; more minutes for the Towns-Mitchell Robinson pairing could be on the way, though that wouldn't figure to change the dynamics of the Harris cross-match.) On the other, though, a surprise rotation adjustment wouldn't be out of the question in an environment where every single game is its own unique battle. 'Each game is different,' Thibodeau said. 'You have to reset. Whether you win or lose, you reset and get ready for the next one. You have to understand what goes into winning.' What goes into winning for these Knicks is finding ways to maximize the benefit of having one of the best big-man shooters of all time. They've struggled to do that for months, and it cost them dearly in Game 2. Coach, captain and center have to come together to find better answers — quick. 'It's on me to make sure I set the table,' Brunson said after Game 2. 'So I'll go back and I'll figure out what I need to do, we'll have conversations, and we'll come back better for Game 3.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can the Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns back on track against the Pistons before it's too late?
It's difficult to speed Jalen Brunson up. The Knicks' All-Star point guard is pretty damn good at operating at his own pace on the court, controlling the tempo of a game and, when necessary, pivoting from one angle of approach to another. He's got that same control off the court, too. Advertisement After New York's loss to visiting Detroit in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Monday — a defeat that handed the precocious Pistons home-court advantage in the best-of-seven set, which resumes Thursday in Game 3 at Little Caesars Arena — Brunson fielded a question about how he'd assess his offensive performance in the defeat. 'I feel like I'm getting to spots, and missing shots I normally make,' Brunson said. Brunson then took a long pause, weighing his words, considering the potential angles of approach. And then: the pivot. 'I feel like it could be a lot better,' he added. Brunson declined to offer specifics on that count, but after a night that saw the Knicks finish with just 15 assists on 34 made baskets in Game 2 — 11 fewer than their Game 1 win, and their lowest total of the season — en route to their third-least-efficient offensive performance of the campaign, the main avenue for improvement seemed clear as day, laid bare by a number louder than a bomb: Advertisement Karl-Anthony Towns — the All-Star floor-spacing center that New York had swung a blockbuster deal to import on the eve of training camp with the express purpose of making the Knicks' offense sing — had a grand total of zero shot attempts over the final 17 minutes of the game. And that's not a tune this Knicks team can dance to. Less touches for Towns Towns, who averaged 59.6 touches per game during the regular season and got 56 in Game 1, according to Second Spectrum tracking, finished with just 36 in Game 2 — his second-lowest total of the season, according to Jared Dubin of Last Night in Basketball. Maybe Towns wasn't trying to force the action … but that's at least partially because there wasn't much action for him to force. All told, Towns attempted 11 shots in Game 2 — just the ninth time this season he got up fewer than a dozen shots. Three of those came in New York's first three games of the season, right after his arrival, prompting Brunson to tell reporters that it was his responsibility to "make sure that we're all on the same page and to make sure everyone's eating." Advertisement After that, feeding Towns became a priority, with the pair developing one of the league's most potent pick-and-roll partnerships and fueling New York's rise up the offensive efficiency charts. The big fella's been eating less of late, though. Since Brunson's return from an ankle sprain late in the season, Towns' usage rate is 23.3% — down from 27.2% before the return. Before the All-Star break, Brunson assisted on Towns' baskets 1.8 times per game; since mid-February, including these first two playoff games, that's down to 1.1 per contest. It makes sense that the dimes are down, though; so are the overall number of passes. Prior to the All-Star break, Brunson was passing to KAT 10.3 times per game, with those feeds accounting for nearly 18% of the Knicks captain's total passes. After the break, that dropped to 8.4 per game, just under 14% of the whole. And through two games against Detroit, Brunson has passed to Towns just 12 times, resulting in a mere two assists. Advertisement Sometimes, the issue appears to be Brunson — who led the league in time of possession during the regular season and has increased his take by a minute and a half through two postseason outings — choosing to charge ahead into the teeth of the defense rather than spray the ball out to a waiting 42% 3-point shooter: Sometimes, it seems like New York's system is just operating the way its architect intended. Brunson finished fourth in the NBA in usage rate last season. While that dropped to 20th this season after the arrivals of Towns and Mikal Bridges, Brunson still led the league in 'clutch' usage rate, finishing an eye-popping 42.4% of New York's offensive possessions in the final five minutes of close games. Advertisement When it matters most, Thibodeau wants the ball in Brunson's hands … and in the playoffs, it always matters most. That can leave complementary players — even ones as gifted and decorated as Towns, a likely soon-to-be three-time All-NBA selection who has averaged more than 20 points per game for nine straight seasons — on the fringes of the frame, watching Brunson operate at the center. Towns averaged fewer 3-point attempts per game this season (4.7) than he had since 2018-19 in Minnesota — the last season during which he was coached by Thibodeau. The last time he hoisted fewer than three triples per game in the postseason was in the opening round in 2018 … when he spent much of his time in the series drawing a switch and then spacing to the corner. During that series, Thibodeau emphasized the importance of making the right reads and trusting the pass. Towns talked about executing the game plan to the best of his ability. Asked in the locker room after Game 2 what he can do to make more of an offensive impact, Towns answered, 'I don't know. I was executing what we said we wanted to do.' How the Pistons are making it tough on Towns Towns offered similar refrains in response to a pair of other questions, including one about whether the Pistons were doing anything different defensively to short-circuit him; he said he'd need to look back at the film to tell for sure. One thing they did, that they've done since the start of Game 1, and that a number of teams have done against Towns and the Knicks: toggle the defensive matchups by putting power forward Tobias Harris, who mostly checked OG Anunoby during the regular season, on Towns in a move aimed at allowing Detroit to switch Brunson-Towns pick-and-rolls — or, better yet, snuff them out altogether. Advertisement Putting point-of-attack pests Ausar Thompson and Dennis Schröder on Brunson has given Detroit both a physical presence and the ability to deftly navigate ball screens. And putting Harris on Towns gives the Pistons a quicker defender to stick with Towns without sacrificing strength. In Game 2, especially, Harris prioritized doing his work early, looking to either deny Towns a clean catch or push him an extra couple of feet away from the basket before receiving it, and largely staying attached to him when he set ball screens to try to keep the Knicks center from ever getting a look on the pop: At the same time, putting center Jalen Duren, who primarily guarded Towns during the regular season, on Knicks forward Josh Hart, has allowed the Pistons' center to sag off of the most inconsistent long-distance shooter in New York's starting five and spend more time parked in and around the lane to dissuade drives, contest interior shots and corral defensive rebounds. 'When they do that, it's different,' Brunson said of the sort of cross-matching Detroit's doing. 'We have a guy who's probably going to be a smaller guy guarding KAT, so KAT's able to either take him to the post or play him out on the perimeter, whichever he wants — because that's his game, that's what he's able to do. And Josh is going to read the defense. He's going to set screens. He's gonna get to the short pocket, and he loves to make plays for others. Advertisement 'And so, it's all about kind of reading what the defense does. It doesn't matter who's on who. Everybody's got to attack what we see as an advantage for us.' In practice, though, it has tended to provide an advantage for the defense. Opponents have cross-matched on Towns more and more as the season has progressed, prompting a reduction in how often he sets ball screens, how many pick-and-pop 3s he gets, and the overall effectiveness of New York's offense. A Knicks attack that ranked second in the NBA in points scored per possession at the end of December ranked 16th after the start of January, with lineups featuring Brunson and Towns scoring about two fewer points per 100 possessions in 2025 than they had before the calendar flipped. The Knicks can counter it in part by repeatedly putting Towns' size and shotmaking to work against whichever smaller defender he draws, as they did throughout Game 1, when he scored 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting … … and on a handful of possessions early in Game 2, with New York clearing out one side with shooters spotting up opposite Towns, daring Detroit to either guard him straight up or bring Duren on a double-team, potentially opening up the glass or back-door cuts: Towns has the tools to counteract that kind of coverage. Thibodeau can make it easier for him by running some cross-screens as Towns goes from block to block, aiming to briefly dislodge Harris and keep him from pushing KAT out, allowing KAT to get deeper and more advantageous post position. Advertisement 'Obviously, I'm always trying to get involved as much as possible,' Towns said after Game 2. 'Whether that's post-up — you know, I've worked tremendously hard on my game to have an outside and inside game, I think I've proven that to the world, year in and year out.' The question that Thibodeau's likely mulling over, though: Can Towns do the hard work consistently and efficiently enough to justify diverting a larger share of the offense away from Brunson? Game 3 adjustments? If the cross-matching continues to be a problem, Thibodeau could look to respond in kind, trying a configuration that replaces Hart, who shot 33.3% from deep this season and has taken only three triples in two games, with Deuce McBride, a superior shooter who hit 37% of his long balls this season. Putting a fifth shooter that defenses have to respect on the floor would make it harder for Duren to roam and play free safety, which could lead Bickerstaff to toggle the matchups back to having KAT guarded by a center, potentially unlocking the Brunson-Towns two-man game. Advertisement On one hand, Thibodeau's probably unlikely to flip that particular switch. He relies on Hart's rebounding, physicality, toughness and defensive versatility too much to drastically minimize his minutes, and he didn't show much interest in test-driving the lineup featuring McBride alongside Brunson, Towns, Anunoby and Bridges during the regular season; it played just 42 minutes. (Playing smaller also wouldn't figure to address the rebounding concerns that Thibs harped on after the Game 2 loss; more minutes for the Towns-Mitchell Robinson pairing could be on the way, though that wouldn't figure to change the dynamics of the Harris cross-match.) On the other, though, a surprise rotation adjustment wouldn't be out of the question in an environment where every single game is its own unique battle. Advertisement 'Each game is different,' Thibodeau said. 'You have to reset. Whether you win or lose, you reset and get ready for the next one. You have to understand what goes into winning.' What goes into winning for these Knicks is finding ways to maximize the benefit of having one of the best big-man shooters of all time. They've struggled to do that for months, and it cost them dearly in Game 2. Coach, captain and center have to come together to find better answers — quick. 'It's on me to make sure I set the table,' Brunson said after Game 2. 'So I'll go back and I'll figure out what I need to do, we'll have conversations, and we'll come back better for Game 3.'
New York Times
23-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Knicks must stop trending away from Karl-Anthony Towns
NEW YORK — The freeze-out, as most do, began in winter. Karl-Anthony Towns did not attempt a shot during the fourth quarter of Monday's Game 2 loss to the Detroit Pistons, which evened the New York Knicks' first-round playoff series at one win apiece. He didn't score a point in the second half that night. But to better understand how the Knicks could drift so far away from their second-leading scorer during a postseason bout that came down to the final seconds, it's worth traveling back four months, when ice began to form around Towns. Advertisement In early December, the Knicks blew out a bottom-feeder. Towns had a gaudy stat line, as did every other New York starter. But the Charlotte Hornets, on an otherwise insignificant night, had pushed the Knicks' season to a new phase. Cody Martin, a 6-foot-6 wing, defended Towns more than any other Hornet did. Opponents had placed perimeter players on the five-time All-Star — such as the Boston Celtics with Jrue Holiday or the Houston Rockets with Dillon Brooks — but for the first time since his October trade from Minnesota, a team without an elite defense was trying the strategy, one coaches have hurled at Towns for years. Martin did not stop Towns, but the Knicks center changed his style, just as the Hornets hoped he would. Placing a smaller defender on Towns — a broad-shouldered behemoth capable of bruising Goliath without a slingshot — is a bet that the 7-footer will change his style, that Towns might get physical for a stretch or a quarter or a half but that he doesn't want to keep that energy for 48 minutes. Wings can tread close to Towns, limiting the long-range attempts of a splashy 3-point shooter, without paying the price. And maybe, on the right day, they can goad the Knicks into less efficient 2-pointers. On that night, Towns did not set many ball screens against the Hornets, in part because a big man could guard Josh Hart, who isn't a threat from beyond the 3-point arc, and roam into the lane From then on, a trend emerged. Later in the month, the Knicks played a couple of consecutive games against the hapless Washington Wizards. The main assignment on Towns for both of them was a 6-foot-7 wing, Justin Champagnie. The result? Towns set fewer ball screens in each of those games than he had in any contest since the infamous, opening-night shellacking at the hands of the Celtics, according to Second Spectrum. Advertisement As teams manned Towns with wings more, Towns' habits changed. He didn't dominate the post enough to convince opponents to deviate. The Knicks' bread-and-butter, the action that was supposed to dominate the league this season, had been the Jalen Brunson-Towns pick-and-roll. The team strayed from it — and thus, strayed from Towns. By the end of the season, the Knicks were 35-12 in games where big men were Towns' primary defender and 11-14 in games when perimeter players were his primary defender. Towns set 27.0 ball screens a game when bigs were primarily on him, according to Second Spectrum. He set just 15.9 when a guard or wing was his main guy. The Pistons have been watching. From the first possession of this series, veteran forward Tobias Harris has guarded Towns. A center, often Jalen Duren, takes Hart. And during these fights with the Pistons, what was once a blemish that only basketball geeks could brag about noticing has become obvious to anyone who could read Towns' shot total during Game 2's fourth quarter. 'He's getting touches. He's making the right play,' head coach Tom Thibodeau said. 'If he's getting double-teamed, I don't want him to shoot the ball over three people.' In that case, the Knicks' job is to figure out how to get Towns shooting over just one person. Towns attempted his last shot against the Pistons with 5:20 to go in the third quarter. Contrary to Thibodeau's statement, he played the entire fourth and touched the ball in the frontcourt only three times during the period, according to Second Spectrum. For perspective, Brunson had 15 front-court touches in the final period. The Dallas Mavericks succeeded in tossing smalls onto Towns throughout last season's Western Conference finals. The LA Clippers disrupted him with perimeter players during the 2022 Play-In Tournament. So, how can the Knicks solve a problem that has plagued Towns for years? Advertisement It starts with getting him involved more in the offense — a process that falls most on three people: Thibodeau, Brunson and Towns himself. Perimeter players, with Harris leading the way, have defended Towns for 82 percent of the Knicks' half-court possessions during Games 1 and 2, according to Second Spectrum. And yet, Towns isn't using his size advantage. He hasn't ducked down low. Not once in this series has Towns muscled Harris, who he has four inches and more than 20 pounds on, to the block before catching the basketball. Instead, Harris wins the shoving match. All of Towns' post-ups in Game 2 began with his feet closer to the 3-point arc than the paint, a major no-no. If Towns received an entry pass with a just a toenail already near the restricted area, he could turn around for an easy bucket. Instead, look at how Harris is winning the off-ball battle with him: New York needs ways to attack the deep paint in the halfcourt. Brunson is best in the short mid-range. OG Anunoby will throttle to the hoop but doesn't facilitate from there. Mikal Bridges pulls up for jumpers before arriving at the rim. Drives are more difficult for Hart with Pistons waiting in the lane for him. Detroit's physicality has been persistent since the series began. The Knicks don't create many 3s. Towns has put up only five and has made one all series (in games that a perimeter player was Towns' primary defender this season, he averaged 3.6 3-point attempts. When a big man was his primary, he averaged 5.3). But his size, if he chooses to use it, gives them a down-low weapon either to score or create. The Pistons threw a curveball at Towns during Game 2. When Towns posted Harris up during the first game of the series, Duren would shade into the lane, stuck somewhat in no-man's land, not guarding his assignment or Towns just in case Towns bolted to the rim. No coincidence, Duren committed three three-second violations that night. Advertisement Come Game 2, the Pistons began to double-team Towns from the baseline. On the rare occasions that he spun away from Duren, he appeared unbothered. Check out this second-quarter play, when Harris can't handle Towns alone as Towns twists to the middle, where Duren can't reach him: Not only is Towns too strong for Harris; he also establishes solid positioning on this play, albeit after he catches the basketball. Harris can't stop him once he hits the paint. But this isn't just a Towns issue. The Knicks could prioritize his touches more. When Brunson missed time with an ankle injury this spring, they ran cross screens down low, actions where a teammate would screen Towns' man in the paint to get him open in the post. Thibodeau could use him less as a spacer in crunch time. He could urge Brunson and Towns to run more pick-and-rolls, as they did earlier in the season, when the offense hummed. Matchups aside, Towns doesn't set nearly as many ball screens for Brunson as he did earlier in the schedule. Thibodeau could force the Pistons to make difficult decisions, too. If Thibodeau were to replace Hart with Miles 'Deuce' McBride, even if the adjustment were just making McBride-for-Hart the first substitution of the game, the choice to guard Towns with a wing wouldn't be as intuitive. As constituted, it works because the Pistons can put their center on Hart or backup center Mitchell Robinson, who has played next to Towns during this series. Neither will hurt Detroit from deep. But place a center on McBride, Brunson, Bridges or Anunoby and prepare for open 3s aplenty. The starters minus Hart, plus McBride barely played this season, only 160 possessions according to Cleaning the Glass, but annihilated opponents when they did, besting them by 43.7 points per 100 possessions. It was the top lineup in the NBA among the many units that played as many possessions as they did. Advertisement Of course, swapping Hart for McBride would not help the Knicks' rebounding struggles, which Thibodeau harped on after the Game 2 defeat. And then there's Brunson, who took over fourth quarters all season — and did the same Monday. The end of any close Knicks game is a declaration that this team is Brunson's. He is the Knicks' crunch-time engine. When games are within five points with five-or-less minutes to go, his usage is three times Towns'. In Game 2, Brunson took it to the extreme, and not just late. The ball went into and mostly stayed in his hands. He ran 17 isolations against the Pistons, which would have tied his regular-season high, per Second Spectrum. All the while, Towns remained a nonparticipant. 'It's very tough when there's definitely one ball,' Brunson said. 'We have a lot of great players on this team and definitely it's on my shoulders. … It's on me to make sure I set the table. So I'll go back, and I'll figure out what I need to do.' Whatever the captain does, whatever Thibodeau changes, however Towns adjusts, they must end the freeze-out. The Knicks' end-of-season struggles coincided with teams sticking wings onto Towns. During Towns' first 43 games played, a perimeter player was his primary defender only 10 times. But over his final 29 regular-season games, it happened more often than not: 15 times. New York went 6-9 in those games. Not all of those defeats came to elite defenses. In late March, Towns scored an inefficient 24 points during a loss to the Hornets. A 6-foot-7 forward, Miles Bridges, followed him more than anyone else. This problem is not going anywhere. On paper, Harris shouldn't be able to guard Towns, but he will continue to as long as he wrestles with such verve — and as long as Towns allows it. If the Knicks skirt by Detroit, Boston will be no easier, whether it's Holiday or Jayson Tatum on Towns. Towns has to figure this out, as do Thibodeau and Brunson. If the Knicks can't optimize their two stars, they can't reach their potential.
