The 5-5 New York Knicks are still finding their footing after drastically making over their roster with the additions of Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony-Towns. Bridges has had some struggles to start the season, leading to some questioning if the Knicks gave up too much to acquire him from the Brooklyn Nets.
Meanwhile, Towns has been as good, if not better than advertised on offense. Despite that, he has lived up to his reputation as a poor defender through the team's first 10 games. According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Towns is allowing players to shoot 32-35 (91.4%) within five feet of the rim in his first nine games.
With teams shooting an alarmingly high percentage at the rim against Towns, it likely explains why they rank 23rd in defensive rating. Teams can pick on towns in the pick and roll by forcing a switch and then having their best player feast in a one-on-one situation.
The Boston Celtics did just that last season when Towns was still playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Tatum hitting five shots against him. Even if he doesn't have to guard the ball, him providing help at the rim probably won't do him or the Knicks any favors either, according to that stat.
Can the New York Knicks work around Karl Anthony-Towns' biggest flaw?
The Knicks were forced to start Towns at center with the absence of Mitchell Robinson, who isn't expected to return until January 2025. That has given the Knicks an opportunity to see how they would fair with him at the five on both ends of the floor.
They currently rank 3rd in offensive rating and are close to the Boston Celtics, their main rival to win the East, in that regard. That is obviously encouraging and proves that Towns playing the five is the recipe for a great offense.
After all, he is one of the best shooting big men in NBA history and can also score in the post. That is all well and good but offenses tend to be less effective come playoff time and the Knicks will need their defense to be around the top-15, probably the top-10, for them to have a realistic shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals.
That is still doable, though the tradeoff may be having to move him to the four when Robinson returns. That would probably mean they take a bit of a hit on offense if it means they improve their offense.
With Robinson not set to return for a while, the Knicks can afford to see if they can improve on defense with Towns. If they can't, then they have a backup plan they can eventually try.