KAT'n Clutch

A Karl-Anthony Towns resurgence may be happening.

Good morning! What a nice way to end the weekend. Let’s get to it…

Knicks 105, Bulls 99

37-21 (W2); 15-13 on the road

Before last night’s game, Mike Brown sat in front of the microphone and did his best to put lipstick on a pig.

When asked about what has arguably become the biggest topic of this Knicks season, Brown twisted himself into one pretzel after another trying to explain away the the decreased scoring output of one Karl-Anthony Towns:

(Actually Mike, KAT averaged 35 minutes last year, but who’s counting)

Yes, everyone’s minutes are down, and several players’ shot attempts are down as a result of that, but on a per-36 minute basis, Towns is taking an average of 1.3 fewer shots compared to 0.8 fewer for Mikal, 0.4 fewer for OG and 1.2 more for Hart. Those last three numbers net out to even. The reality is that the biggest reason for KAT’s drop in shot attempts isn’t attributable to someone like Landry (0.6 more per 36) or Mitch (5.7 shots per 36, a steep drop from the 10.1 taken by the man he effectively replaced, Precious Achiuwa), but Jalen Brunson, who is up 2.4 shots per 36. Effectively, KAT’s loss has been Brunson’s gain. When you factor in the minutes (Brunson playing 0.7 fewer minutes per game compared to 3.6 fewer for Towns), the discrepancy only gets more severe.

Because of the conversation surrounding KAT’s offensive role and the many tentacles that spring from it, this Bulls game marked something of a seminal event.

For the first time all season, Karl-Anthony Towns has now cleared 20 points in five consecutive games, with the best among those coming last night when he was downright dominant against a Chicago team that almost certainly pulls off the upset if not for KAT’s effort.

Prior to this run, Towns had one (1) stretch of three games scoring at least 20, and it began all the way back in October. That’s it.

Compare that to last season, which included this laundry list of scoring exploits:

• A stretch of 10 straight scoring 20 or more

• A stretch of 8 straight scoring 20 or more, including three straight of 30 or more

• Two different stretches of 5 straight scoring 20 or more, including one featuring three straight of at least 30

• A stretch of 3 straight scoring 30 or more

• A stretch of 3 straight scoring 20 or more

To really hammer this home, shout out to KFS intern Jonah Kaufman who let me in on this stat: last night was just Karl’s ninth game with at least 10 made field goals. Compare that to last season, when he had 23 such efforts through 54 games, winding up with 31 in total.

One more: prior to converting 10 field goals against Houston on Saturday night, Towns had gone twenty five consecutive games without making single digit shots. Last year, he never went more than eight games without hitting that mark.

And then of course there is the elephant in the room, which is that in addition to a vast decrease in opportunity, Towns is also in the midst of the least efficient season of his pro career.

Except that now, more than 50 games in, we might be witnessing a turnaround.

After going 10-of-17 for 28 points in a game that was far closer than it had any right to be, Towns is now shooting 56.6 percent from the field over his last five games. That’s tops on the team over that stretch among all players who have attempted at least a dozen field goals.

And speaking of attempts, KAT’s 76 over this stretch are second only to Jalen. On a per 36 minute basis, Karl’s 17.7 average in these last five is actually slightly higher than his All-Star teammate, who is at 17.5.

As usual with Towns, it isn’t just the “what” but the “how” and the “when” that matters. KAT unleashed nine threes, making five, and looked confident and decisive on those attempts. The yin and yang of Towns’ offensive game was on full display late in the fourth, when he nailed a 3-pointer to put the Knicks up 97-95 with 2:34 to go, and then followed that up with a pump-fake, dribble drive layup on the very next possession after he got his defender to bite on the perimeter.

Those two buckets accounted for five of KAT’s 11 fourth quarter buckets, which amounted to half of New York’s total in the final period. It was the second straight night he was a force in a close final frame. If we’re ranking the importance of post All-Star break developments, this is not only number one on the list, but there’s a chasm between it and whatever comes in second.

As for the rest of the game, the less said, the better. The Knicks put forth just enough effort to win, making this reminiscent of the recent loss to the Pacers, except for the fact that Chicago stinks to a whole ‘nother degree. To their credit, New York started defending with more urgency after halftime, and while the Bulls offense is an atrocity, the Knicks deserve credit for holding Chicago to fewer points in each additional quarter.

Elsewhere we got some more questionable rotation choices from Mike Brown, who gave us far more of the Ariel Hukporti / Jeremy Sochan tag team than any sane individual could possibly want to see. What he’s hoping to accomplish by seeing Sochan alongside another non-shooting big man is beyond me, but he deserves some more rope on this one. Let’s hope no one is hanging from it in the end.

The only other notable nugget from this game involved the indefatigable Landry Shamet, who continues to come for Mikal Bridges’ minutes. Bridges again had a woeful evening, right up until his game-sealing triple with 26 seconds to go, while Shamet notched 16 points on nine shots - third best on the team behind KAT and JB. Definitely a situation worth monitoring.

That’s about it. A win is a win, as they say, even if it comes over a team that has now lost nine straight. The going is about to get much tougher, which makes New York’s wins this weekend so important. Hopefully the energy they conserved over the majority of these two victories will come in handy when it matters.

💫 Stars of the Game 💫

⭐️ Josh Hart: The best part of Josh’s night was when he dribbled out the clock like a member of the Harlem Globetrotters playing keep-away from the Washington Generals. 11, 9 & 5 on 4-of-5 shooting works just fine too.

⭐️ ⭐️ Landry Shamet: Since the MLK day disaster, among rotation Knicks here for the entire time (so not Jose), KAT has the best offensive on/off difference, but Landry is a close second. He continues to give them everything they need, making a great argument for the best minimum signing in the league.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Karl-Anthony Towns: I’ve let the Stars standings fall through the cracks - I’ll go back and tally everything up at some point, I promise - but I’m fairly certain this is the first time all season that Towns has gotten top honors in consecutive games. If anyone can remember a previous occasion, please let me know, but this is certainly the most confident I’ve felt watching KAT in quite some time. Worth noting: his defense was really, really solid all night, and he had three steals to show for his efforts.

On offense, the real test will come on Tuesday against a Cavs team that always plays him tough. If he can produce then, we’ll know this turnaround is legit.

Final Thought

Back off the ledge…for now.

🏀

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”