Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns still out of sync in Mike Brown's offense
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) after missing a three pointer in the fourth quarter during the New York Kicks versus the Phoenix Suns basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, Saturday, January 17, 2026 Credit: Ed Murray
It is hard to watch. It is hard to hear.
The Knicks trailed the Phoenix Suns by seven points with just under a minute left Saturday night when OG Anunoby found Karl-Anthony Towns at the top of the key. Towns is one of the best-shooting big men in NBA history, and Knicks fans had every reason to expect him to nail the wide-open shot.
Instead, the ball slipped in his hand and he threw up an air ball as if he were some middle-aged fan plucked out of the stands for a halftime contest. A frustrated Madison Square Garden did not hold back, and the highest-paid player on the Knicks was serenaded with boos.
I watched this live on deadline Saturday night from the press seats at Madison Square Garden, and I watched the replay several times the next day. It doesn’t get any easier.
Towns’ air ball, however, is not the reason the Knicks lost that game, 106-99. It’s not the reason they can’t seem to snap out of their current spiral, going 2-8 in their past 10 games. There is plenty of blame to go around for being in the trouble the Knicks find themselves.
The air ball and the reaction to it is just the latest sign that Towns and the fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with his performance in coach Mike Brown’s system.
During the Knicks’ skid, social media has been flooded with posts contending the Knicks have a “Karl-Anthony Towns problem.” One of the most creative ones ran side-by-side videos of Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s 100-yard kickoff return touchdown and a play in Sacramento in which it takes longer for Towns to get back on defense than it does for Smith-Marsette to go 100 yards.
After the loss in Sacramento, Brown, who usually is very careful about singling out individual players, called out Towns for not getting back on defense after getting stripped in the paint by Precious Achiuwa. When Russell Westbrook missed a three-pointer, Josh Hart batted the rebound toward midcourt, but Achiuwa recovered it and Westbrook hit a three.
“He drove, he fell down,” Brown said. “When you fall down, you got to get up and got to sprint down the floor. And even when you’re the last guy down the floor, you got to get down there just in case there’s a long rebound. But there was no urgency. That wasn’t the only play. There were a handful of plays that we did that. But there was no sense of urgency on that particular play to get back. And it was a five-point swing.
“If he at least gets down the floor, long rebound, he’s going to get it because he’s trailing the play. We watched the play at halftime and he didn’t even cross halfcourt. That sums up what our night was.”
Actually, Towns didn’t even get past the three-point line. In any case, the Knicks don’t have a Karl-Anthony Towns problem as much as they have a Karl-Anthony Towns and Mike Brown problem.
From the start, it’s been clear that Towns has struggled with Brown’s offensive system, which puts a premium on player movement and very quick decision-making. Towns is at his best when he is more of a focal point of the offense and gets a high number of touches. It’s gotten worse as the season has progressed, and it’s conceivable that this January could be Towns’ worst month as a pro.
In the eight games he has played in January, he is averaging 17.1 points and shooting 42.5% overall and 31.3% from three-point range. In his career, Towns has averaged 22.9 points. Last year under coach Tom Thibodeau, he averaged 24.4 points, making 52.6% of his shots overall and 42.0% of his threes.
His problems on offense have bled over into his defense. OK, Towns has never been a good defensive player, but now there are times when his frustration level is so high that he doesn’t even appear to be trying.
Great coaches adapt their style to deal with the players they have. When he came to the Knicks, Pat Riley went from “Showtime” to a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team that could make the best use of his players’ skills. Maybe it’s time to stop expecting Towns to adjust to Brown’s style and flip the script the other way.
Brown has shown some flexibility before. When he got to Sacramento, Domantas Sabonis worked with him to design an entire offense that went through him. Of course, that can’t and shouldn’t happen here, but the current system is not working for Towns.
It’s up to Brown to find something that does.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
