Acquired by the New York Knicks late in the offseason, Karl-Anthony Towns had a productive first season with his new team. He started in the All-Star Game and is likely to find his name on one of the All-NBA teams once they are announced. Now in his 10th season, Towns is a superbly talented player who does have his warts, particularly on the defensive end. He frequently finds himself in foul trouble. The 7-footer has averaged at least three fouls per contest in nine of his 10 seasons (averaged 2.9 in 2016-17). Committing numerous fouls has continued to be a trend in this year’s playoffs for Towns.
Karl-Anthony Towns Is Committing Fouls At An Unreal Rate
Karl-Anthony Towns Is In Foul Trouble Too Often
The Knicks had the opportunity to reach their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000 on Wednesday. Instead, the Boston Celtics extended the series to at least a Game 6 with a 127-102 victory. New York has to win either Friday or Sunday to not see that unfortunate streak continue.
With 9:49 remaining in the second quarter, Towns picked up his third foul. That forced the 29-year-old center to the bench for the rest of the half. At the time, he had eight points and the Knicks were up by five. The game was knotted at 59 apiece at halftime.
It seems every game that Towns picks up at least one or two silly fouls. For a player in his 10th season, it’s something you would think he would have learned not to do earlier in his career. While Towns will never be confused as an All-Defensive player, New York still needs him on the court to reach their absolute ceiling.
During the regular season, Towns posted averages of 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds (career-high), and 3.1 assists. An excellent outside shooter, he made 42% of his tries from beyond the arc. He also averaged 3.5 fouls while fouling out of five of his 72 outings and picking up five fouls in another 13 games. Fouling in bunches has also been occurring during the Knicks postseason run for Towns.
Can He Finish With Less Than 4 Fouls In Game 6?
While he only picked up one foul in the second half on Wednesday, Towns finished the game with four. Remarkably, that is now the 10th straight postseason game this year that the 2015 first overall pick had at last four. New York has played 11 playoff games thus far. The only one that he picked up less than four was when he had three in Game 1 of their opening round matchup against the Detroit Pistons.
In Game 6 of that matchup, Towns fouled out with 49 seconds remaining. Pistons center Jalen Duren made one of two free throws to give Detroit a two-point lead at the time. Luckily for the Knicks, a Mikal Bridges tip-in and Jalen Brunson clutch three-pointer with five seconds left gave New York the victory in the game and the series.
Towns also has five fouls in four different playoff games this year. He is averaging 4.5 fouls per outing in New York’s 11 playoff games. In the five games against Boston in this series, he is averaging 19.6 points and 12.8 rebounds. The Knicks really need Towns to not get in foul trouble come Friday, if they want their chances to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to be greater.
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