The Knicks Are Wasting Karl-Anthony Towns, and It Shows

The New York Knicks had a road game against Cleveland and left the game embarrassed, dropping a 109-94 decision to the Cavaliers, a game that exposed their most persistent problem.

At the core of the issue was Karl-Anthony Towns, a player who was perfect from the field, going 5-for-5, but somehow, as a shooter, he only got the ball five times the whole game. That is not a misprint. The Knicks' most lethal offensive weapon took fewer shots than most benchwarmers, and New York suffered heavily as a ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌result.

Jalen‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Brunson and Mikal Bridges together went 12-for-36 from the floor and the Knicks had an awful 27% 3-point shooting. However, no one turned to the one player who was really making his shots. KAT made 14 points, a driving layup in the first, a putback and an and-one in the second, and a cold-blooded three from 25 feet assisted by OG Anunoby all before the break. What happened next? Just one bucket in garbage time with the score already at 88-74 ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍.

As ESPN's Tim MacMahon put it bluntly: "It's absolutely dumbfounding that [Karl-Anthony Towns] gets five shots, goes five of five. Nobody else in the starting lineup was shooting the ball well... The coaches have to figure out a way to get him the ball."

Chiney Ogwumike added what should be the most damning indictment of New York's coaching: "As a coach, when you notice your shot is not falling, you have to be able to pivot to another strategy. And it just seems like they didn't have that requisite pivot."

"It's absolutely dumbfounding that [Karl-Anthony Towns] gets five shots. ... The coaches have to figure out a way to get him the ball."

—@BannedMacMahon on how the Knicks are using KAT 👀 pic.twitter.com/li0Bdo3jLg
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 25, 2026

A System That Ignores Its Best Weapon

Towns‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ was already pulled out for Mitchell Robinson at the 4:56 mark of the first quarter, already a suspicious signal. While he was doing work on the glass, gathering multiple defensive rebounds and even blocking James Harden, his scoring contribution was shockingly minimal.

The Knicks are currently getting 19.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game from KAT in February, stats that definitely require 18-plus shot attempts a night.

Instead, they are running him through sets that clearly are not his style of play. The answer is not complex. Feed him the ball in the post. Run pick-and-rolls with him as the finisher, not away from him. He is far too good to be a five-shot ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌afterthought.

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