The big story surrounding the New York Knicks is the absence of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT had to miss his seventh game of the season because of personal reasons, and it is unclear when he will return to the team. To make matters worse, the Knicks suffered a rough loss at the hands of the new-look Warriors, exposing several flaws in their roster. Luckily for Tom Thibodeau, many of their issues are fixable. New York still has 21 games left to figure it out before the playoffs start.
Knicks’ Loss to Warriors Reveals Fixable Roster Flaws
The goal of regular-season basketball for contending teams such as the Knicks is to identify flaws, find solutions, and implement them throughout the campaign. Other than that, you just want to stay healthy while building chemistry for the playoffs. Squads who otherwise had potential constantly flame out because they failed to find their weaknesses and address them before the games mattered. Fortunately for the Knicks, it’s clear what their issues are. They are just about locked into the East’s third seed, giving them 21 relatively meaningless games to workshop answers to their flaws. Some of them are simply roster holes that can’t be addressed until the offseason, but many of their problems can be fixed with a full rotation or better lineup configurations.
Towns is Essential to NY’s Success
We’ve all heard the criticisms of KAT’s play for over a decade. It’s been no different on this Knicks team in his first season here. He’s too easily attackable for opposing offenses and provides no resistance at the rim as a defensive center. KAT has been exposed constantly by elite offenses this year, and it’s cost his team massively.
However, he’s one of the best offensive players in the league, and arguably the greatest big-man shooter of all time. Towns’ offensive value far exceeds his defensive weaknesses, and that concept was on full display in NY’s loss to Golden State, where they only mustered up 102 points. Towns has a +6.3 on/off this season for one simple reason. Without him, New York’s spacing is nonexistent, especially because they have to use Precious Achiuwa (a weak offensive player) or now Mitchell Robinson (a non-shooter) in his stead. With Josh Hart in a shooting slump, giving opponents two players to sag off of and double Jalen Brunson is damaging to the Knicks’ offense. Last night, they couldn’t recover.
How important is it for Josh Hart to play next to a floor-spacing center?
The two-man lineup of Hart and KAT have posted a team-high plus/minus of +271 this season.
In contrast, the two-man lineup of Hart and Precious Achiuwa has registered a +/- of -51 (the second-worst…
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) March 5, 2025
Thibodeau Must Minimize Hart’s Minutes Next to Another Non-Shooter
Although Miles McBride is another small guard next to Brunson, creating a minuscule backcourt, he more than makes up for it with his on-ball defense, intensity, and shooting. He’s the Knicks’ best off-ball marksman, which is crazy to say on a squad with Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. It’s a testament to the tremendous progress McBride has made since his days as a non-shooting young player.
Last night’s loss revealed a clear direction Thibodeau needs to go in terms of playing time. When Towns is out or off the floor, in particular, McBride should get a majority of the minutes. This would be at the expense of Hart’s minutes, but New York simply cannot have two non-shooters on the floor at once. While Towns is out, Achiuwa and Robinson will take on all the center role and McBride should replace Hart for much of that time. Hart is a great player and he will get his shot back at some point, but for now, McBride needs to play much more.
To simplify this principle, look at it this way. In any lineup with Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, and Robinson/Achiuwa, McBride should be the fifth player, not Hart. Even when Towns returns, there will be lineups with Robinson or Achiuwa on the floor, and the concept remains the same.
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