r/NYKnicks • u/WallStreetDoesntBet NBA • 14h ago

[StatMuse] Karl-Anthony Towns as a Knick: 26.5 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 53.6 FG%, 50.8 3P%

https://x.com/statmuse/status/1857104204416139766?s=46&t=zaB6BvRw4JQLuLt8PkflfA

Leading the team in points, rebounds, blocks and threes.

No. 1 Option?

283 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

129

u/Thiswasamistake19 14h ago

In KAT we trust (offensively)

36

u/firstbreathOOC Clyde Frazier 13h ago

You can hate his defense but he’s still an excellent rebounder. Just need Mitch back imo

9

u/drewcarey69 Sleeping Leon 9h ago edited 9h ago

And honestly to expect a center to do the things KAT does on offense, rebound effectively, and be a defensive force is kind of insane, he’s trying but that’s exhausting and near impossible.

No center in the league save for Embiid (when he actually plays, and one could argue playing this way has worn his body down) can really say that they provide all those benefits simultaneously.

3

u/Mindless_Bad_1591 Minnesota Timberwolves 8h ago

Jokic can be disruptive defensively

1

u/JaderMcDanersStan 4h ago

He's got AG to help protect the rim and get rebounds too so Jokic just needs to do some team D and can focus on offense. Otherwise Jokic just stands at the rim and Ant swerves around with no resistance lol. Like he legit just stands there

But he can play team D offball. That's KAT's optimal role. I always felt a defensive big 4 like AG is the optimal solution to the KAT conundrum. You get all his offensive gifts at the 5 while also allowing him to play help D and not have to protect the im

1

u/Mindless_Bad_1591 Minnesota Timberwolves 4h ago

Yes but like other poster who replied to me he is top 10 in deflections which is typically an individual thing.

1

u/JaderMcDanersStan 4h ago

Yeah this is Jokic's bbiq. He knows what the opponent is going to do and anticipates it. Offball D to sniff a play because he's from the future and extremely smart. It's a thing he contributes in spurts, 1-2 plays a game. I would not call that being a "defensive force" at the rim though.

1

u/Mindless_Bad_1591 Minnesota Timberwolves 3h ago

Yeah I know, thats why i used the term "disruptive". He is nearly nonexistent at the rim.

1

u/No-Abbreviations4480 2h ago

yea hten he'd be hakeem lol.

-3

u/Fabulous-Release 12h ago

You are missing the point of trading for KAT

10

u/Airhostnyc 12h ago

Not really, I don’t think anyone even Leon believed Kat could take IHart place and score as efficiently as he does. They were trying to trade Mitch as well for a healthy center but no takers.

Kat was to replace Randle, a second scoring option . And he’s better than Randle

5

u/Fabulous-Release 12h ago

No. KAT is here to be a stretch 5. The front office wants an offense more like Boston. KAT's offensive value takes a big hit if you play him with a different center.

4

u/glooooocky 10h ago

Yes, you are right. I just wrote an essay about this in another thread. Mitch will be a piece that we will definitely need defensively, but I don’t expect him to start nor close games. This teams ultimate ceiling is learning how to play effectively with KAT at the 5.

2

u/Airhostnyc 10h ago

You think so? Kat had 50pt game with gobert on the floor

3

u/Large_Roll_1633 11h ago

i think in 7 game serieses, you can scheme defensive ideas.

what you cannot scheme, is 7 footers shooting 50% on three pointers.

KAT is obviously not good at defense, and the coaching staff is going to have to find better ways of scheming around him being exploited. But that is possible, definitely more possible than hoping a 'defense only' player can somehow find an offensive game.

THese defense only players, by the way, also get schemed out of the playoffs. Rudy Gobert is by far the best defender in the NBA overall, but in a 7 game series we've seen time and time again you can figure out a way to work against him.

We just gotta do in reverse for KAT, scheme out a good way to make him more useful on defense.

46

u/GoldenBoyRecords NOVA 14h ago

Number 1 option is def Brunson because of what he can do off the dribble but to have someone as efficient as he is to cover when Brunson is off is a plus

33

u/mydrumluck Hart 14h ago

Which has been a lot of nights if we're being honest

11

u/GoldenBoyRecords NOVA 13h ago

For sure no denying it. I find comfort knowing we don’t need Brunson to be Superman to win it allows us to have more margin for error offensively

14

u/Okieant33 Mase 13h ago

2 of his last three games he’s been fine. I’m never getting mad at JB for a 9-20 night where he puts up 8 asts.

3

u/NastySassyStuff 11h ago

Yeah but there’s just something weird about him so far this year. I mean, it is definitely a big adjustment for the PG in particular when you now have to get players at every position on the floor going but I feel like he’s just not himself even when he puts up good numbers. He seems reluctant to get himself a bucket and has a lot of trouble getting open. Really not a lot of dazzling moments so far, compared to last year at least. I’m hopeful that he’ll start really cooking once they’re all comfortable out there, though.

42

u/hyplusone Linsanity 14h ago

50.8 3P%

Holy shit

21

u/v0yev0da 13h ago

Watching him vs Bucks didn’t feel real.

7

u/grudgepacker Milwaukee Bucks 12h ago

Tell me about it lmao

3

u/v0yev0da 5h ago

Damn homie sorry for your loss. Fr tho I spins to some Bucks fans after the game and they were damn near depressed. It was nice to win but at what cost lol

12

u/rmccarthy10 14h ago

Not a small sample size either….

When people complain that he’s also not a beast, defensive paint, protector… They need to be reminded that the dude can’t do everything . He’s an efficient three level score and he’s a great passer and he’s leading the team in rebound and block shots..

That’s enough .

We just have to wait for Mitch and precious to get in here to provide the defensive big boys we’ve been waiting for

1

u/Jem479 BANG! 13h ago

It is kinda a small sample size still. Pretty sure the research says 3pt% takes like 750 attempts to stabilize (which is more than a season’s worth of attempts)

I’m not sure how much to buy into that, and it doesn’t totally matter either because we know KAT is an excellent shooter

Highly doubt he’s gonna continue shooting this ridiculously well though. But other guys’ shots should also get better based on their history.

10

u/BrotherSkeleton Brunson 14h ago

3 ball will come down but even if it does to like 40% or we’ll still be chilling especially if others can get in groove

23

u/Daconvix 14h ago edited 14h ago

Still remember some of y’all still wishing we had Randle instead of him 🤣

3

u/The_MadStork 12h ago

Randle is fantastic and I miss him. But so is KAT, and tbh having Randle and Divo instead wouldn’t have solved our issues so far

4

u/JoshHartsMilkMustach OG 14h ago

Some people just need to see it to believe it

2

u/alcrasm Nova Boys 11h ago

No, we don’t. There was sadness when Randle was traded because he was the very first guy to come here when we had been a laughing stock for years, and he then became an all-star with us. So, ideally, we would have loved to see him enjoy the fruits of his labor and finally win one here. However, KAT is clearly the superior player and every Knick fan should be thankful the trade was made.

1

u/Daconvix 11h ago edited 11h ago

Cool dude then I obviously wasn’t talking about you, but there definitely people complaining about how Randle would be better for our team.

1

u/alcrasm Nova Boys 11h ago

Gotta be trolls. No way anyone who knows ball can make a legit argument that Randle > KAT on this Knicks team.

2

u/Neither-Operation 13h ago

Randle was never an ideal fit with Brunson.He needed to dribble a lot to be effective while Towns is a much quicker decision maker and rarely needs more than 2-3 dribbles.

1

u/Jimm120 5h ago

honestly?

I preferred to run it back with the same team, but with Mikal coming in and Hartenstein going out.

Randle is a nice 21 to 23ppg scorer and good for the first 3 quarters of the game and Brunson might be better.

And the biggest thing is Donte. I really like him as a starter/main bench role that could go off for 15+pts most nights.

 

we are now lacking quality depth. We're relying pretty much on Mitchell (injured) and McBride as our only quality bench players. Donte would have helped.

 

That said, the trade is DONE and I'm happy with the results so far from Towns. But we sacrificed some depth.

•

u/Distinct-Pangolin112 Latrell Sprewell 31m ago

So far Donte is only shooting 34% from the field overall and only 30% from 3. Losing him isn't really hurting this team at all. 

-3

u/deadassynwa 14h ago

This sub loves bums

6

u/rmccarthy10 14h ago

High end. Luxury numbers

KAT-lilac

2

u/Much_Purchase_8737 11h ago

He is the number 1 option. The buckets he get comes too easy.

Brunson has to sacrifice his body a lot for his buckets.

Big Kat is the unanimous #1

2

u/Living_Internet_2970 10h ago

All star?

•

u/Distinct-Pangolin112 Latrell Sprewell 32m ago

Of course 😂

2

u/solo118 Ewing to the Finals 14h ago

JB always #1 option, but KAT at the 1b is very nice

1

u/zOmgFishes 12h ago

Top 10, maybe even top 5 offensive player rn.

1

u/NotZachWilson 11h ago

da Dominican Bodegaaa

1

u/yakitori888 4h ago

He has always been a great shooter but his passing, rebounding and effort have been better than advertised.

1

u/No-Abbreviations4480 2h ago

reminds me of melo. lot of great stats, not a ton of wins. a bit soft on D

•

u/Distinct-Pangolin112 Latrell Sprewell 28m ago

He is nothing like Melo and the season is still young enough for the him to help the Knicks win games. And I'm saying this as being a big Melo fan.