After dominating the headlines all summer with splashy offseason moves, the New York Knicks are moving and grooving as they sit comfortably in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Although Mikal Bridges has refound his shooting form and Karl-Anthony Towns is enjoying the best season of his career, it hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies in the Big Apple.
There’s still plenty of room and need for improvement if New York wants to be a legitimate contender for the Eastern Conference crown and a shot at the Larry O’Brien trophy. While the Knicks are nine games above .500 with a 25-14 record, they are just 9-8 against teams at least .500. Shockingly, a Tom Thibodeau-coached team’s offense is outpacing the defense.
At the time of this writing, the Knicks have a top-three offense, but a middle-of-the-pack defense. New York still plays with the same grit and effort you expect but lacks size and depth, particularly in the front court.
Yes, KAT is a seven-footer, has played tremendously all season, and is averaging a career-high 13.9 rebounds. Still, despite his best efforts on the defensive end, he isn’t a rim protector or even a deterrent for that matter.
The New York Knicks need to improve their interior defense, and the solution is pretty obvious.
They have struggled against teams that attack the basket all season, with opponents scoring 43.6% of their points in the paint. According to NBA.com, the Knicks are allowing 48.2 points in the paint per game. Regardless of how good their offense is, they will never be able to survive a seven-game series against the likes of the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, or Milwaukee Bucks with the team as is.
With the Towns’ defensive limitations, the logical and obvious thing to do is adjust the lineup, slot him in at the four, and move someone else to the five. KAT has proven he can be effective at the power forward position after playing alongside Rudy Gobert for the past two seasons.
But with Isaiah Hartenstein out of the picture, Mitchell Robinson still rehabbing from offseason foot surgery and yet to be cleared for practice, and Jericho Sims' innate ability to get in foul trouble and miss rotations, New York is forced to use him as a center.
“What they’re lacking right now is a legitimate four.”@BillPidto tells @TheJaxShow and @DarthAmin the Knicks are incredible offensively, but they need more rebounding help. pic.twitter.com/yXJeXkRCpu
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 15, 2024
It’s clear as day that Towns cannot be the starting center if New York wants to compete for a title, but since Robinson has no timeline for a return and no other viable options on the roster, Leon Rose must once again look to the trade market to bolster their roster and take another step toward title contention.
With their current cap situation, they cannot take back more salary than they send out in a trade, which will make things a bit tricky, but that doesn't make it impossible. There were rumors the Knicks were interested in former first-round pick Walker Kessler this offseason.
They can always circle back with the Utah Jazz. Or they can go after someone like Robert Williams, Goga Bitadze, or Isaiah Jackson, all of whom crash the boards and will improve the interior defense while on “cheap” contracts.
Towns is a terrific fit offensively, no matter what position he plays, but as long as he is patrolling the paint defensively, this team has a glass ceiling that cannot be shattered. There are quite a few viable options on the market and the front office must take action soon with the trade deadline less than four weeks away.