Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns Can Bounce Back By Fixing One Thing

Nothing seems to be going right for Karl-Anthony Towns around the half-way point of the season.

He's playing well below his usual standards, and the New York Knicks are hurting as a direct result of his inability to make consistent contributions. They've dropped nine of their last 12 outings, and several of those losses have seen Mike Brown, his head coach, directly criticize Towns' approach and/or focus to postgame media.

New York Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown and Center Karl-Anthony Towns — Oct 22, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown high fives center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

A three-point drop in his per-game scoring average between last season and this ongoing mess of a campaign may not look stark, but it's felt like a nasty drop-off after the five-time All-Star fit into the Knicks swimmingly during his New York debut. Towns rained 3-pointers and scored on his own at will, looking all of the part of the second star to help push the team even further ahead into the playoffs.

His current field goal percentage of 46.9% is the lowest of his statistically-illustrious NBA career, and a quick check on his shooting splits reveals just how widely his worsened touch has spread. Towns' slipping 3-ball is one thing; his coaches can deal with a streaky jumper, especially out of their center, but his nagging paint finishing numbers stand alone as the prime feature of his game that could help reawaken his scoring effectiveness.

Slipping Splits

Towns has voiced some frustrating in his season-long struggle to antiquate into Brown's scheme, but after awhile he just needs to capitalize on his drives. His 61% hit rate from directly under the basket and the 44% finishing figure he's posted between three to 10 feet are both career-lows, point-blank misses that are mostly arriving off of self-made drives.

While most of Towns' unassisted buckets reveal few anomalies, a few choice categories seem to have all of the answers. He's shooting 39/96 on driving layups for 39.8% on such shots, an inexcusable mark for a seven-footer with craft. His driving floaters haven't been much better, as he's 15/35 on those and 6/19 when he tries banking off of the glass.

While Towns' long-range jumper, a once-lethal weapon, hasn't been much better in faltering to 36.3%, he's far from a 3-point specialist. He's at his best in leveraging the ability to attack in space, where he then snipes from outside as the cherry on top of the rest of his game. The star can snap back to his usual perimeter excellence any time, but that won't change the underlying finishing concerns that will continue sapping his effectiveness as a release-valve bucket generator.

New York Knicks Center Karl-Anthony Towns — Jan 14, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) looks up during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Towns' temperament has been long-linked to his performance, making it a reasonable guess that his lingering frustrations with the team's disappointment and his own slump are continuing to haunt his mind. The Knicks know they're under the gun amidst this losing spell, with Jalen Brunson going so far as to call a players-only meeting to assess whatever's bugging them. If there were any time for an alteration in Towns' approach, now would make the most sense for his resurgence as a finisher.

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