Trouble was reportedly brewing behind the scenes before the New York Knicks’ season came to an end on Saturday night.
The Indiana Pacers eliminated the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The Pacers played a strong second half, going up by as much as 21 points in their 125-108 win.
Within an hour of the loss, a report from The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz shed light on a tumultuous Knicks campaign. New York finished the regular season with a 51-31 record, becoming just the third 50-win Knicks team since the turn of the millennium. But some serious issues underneath the surface held the team back from being even better than their final record.
Throughout the postseason, Knicks players have harped on the team’s lack of communication defensively while speaking to the media after losses.
According to The Athletic’s report, Knicks players and coaches privately “expressed frustration” with Karl-Anthony Towns over his poor defensive habits. Their gripes reportedly revolved around “incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it.” Towns’ teammates were said to be “worried” that KAT failed to “grasp the importance” of his supposed lapses.
Towns was the Knicks’ second-leading scorer in the Eastern Conference Finals. The five-time All-Star averaged 24.8 points and a series-best 12.2 rebounds.
However, Towns’ ability to score and rebound was never in question when the Knicks traded for him last offseason. Many questioned whether he would be able to become a passable enough defender to anchor New York’s defense at the center position. The Knicks had to insert Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup in the middle of the series to help cover up Towns’ shortcomings.
The questions surrounding Towns seem as valid as ever as the Knicks enter their second straight postseason elimination at the hands of the Pacers.
