Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns Still Searching for Role Clarity Before Playoffs

The New York Knicks haven't gotten to enjoy playing with a full hand this season. Injured contributors and battered stars have repeatedly hindered head coach Mike Brown's dream of operating with a completely-healthy rotation for months, removing so much of the wind out of their occasional win streaks amidst his inabilities to keep that momentum going through the regular season's end.

It's an unfortunate, helpless problem for any coach to deal with, but not a unique one. No team can survive the months-long schedule without taking a few hits, and several contenders have gotten over that lack of continuity more quickly and smoothly than the Knicks.

Karl-Anthony Towns' spot in the Knicks' continued search for an identity is where things get weird. He just crossed the 70-game threshold for the second time in as many seasons in New York, and while his down-year has continued to statistically improve since the All-Star Break, he's still disillusioned with how he's being used alongside his rotating cast of role players, and let that confusion be known entering the final weeks of his team's ramp into the postseason.

"I'm still working through it," he said when asked about his process of acclimating into Brown's system. "I'm still trying to figure out where I could impact our team and winning the most."

"I'm still trying to figure out where I could impact our team and winning the most."

KAT speaks with Zora Stephenson ahead of Knicks Thunder on NBC and Peacock. pic.twitter.com/cv4k1hZ2cz
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) March 29, 2026

Towns' Unquestionable Importance

Brown has made it his mission to make Towns' job as the rebounding, scoring center in the middle of the Knicks' championship goals as easy as possible, but he's struggled to work alongside the group's odd-fitting starting five.

He's at his best as the centerpiece of New York's five-out scheme, where he's provided with the space to operate at all three levels of the floor by leveraging his usually-devastating three-ball against defenders caught in the air or on their heels. But amidst Mikal Bridges' cold stretch, OG Anunoby's streaky results and Josh Hart's mission to make opponents start to close out on his own-resurrected jumper, Towns isn't always allotted the room, let alone play-calls, to do the most possible damage.

New York Knicks Center Karl-Anthony Towns — Mar 26, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Knicks center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) looks to pass defended by Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabaté (14) during the second quarter at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Despite the preseason priorities that Brown spent the summer rattling off, Jalen Brunson's usage rate is higher than it was last year at a 30.4% mark. Compare that with Towns, who isn't getting possessions started nearly as often as the dominant point guard, as he's watched his own touches drop following a 2024-25 season in which the Knicks' Brunson-reliance heard plenty of criticism.

The inflexible starting lineup only adds to the issues that Towns brings upon himself. He can be a disruptive defender under the rim and on switches when locked in, but the quickness with which he can get thrown off of his axis and play frustrated has haunted the Knicks plenty-a-time in the clutch, and his perception as a clumsy presence against more physical matchups does him few favors in the eyes of officials.

Towns only scored 15 points in the Knicks' 113-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, going down as the second-consecutive game in which the center notched five buckets on single-digit shot attempts in a defeat following the Charlotte Hornets' own midweek win. He may dig his own grave sometimes, but the rocky scheme he's in the middle of is admittedly doing him few favors.

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