Mike was a mad dog after the New York Knicks' latest postseason heartbreaker.
The Knicks' 100-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals drew the wrath of Mike Francesa, as the legendary metropolitan sports talk radio host was highly critical of the high-profile newcomer Karl-Anthony Towns, who struggled to make an impact in his second postseason showing as a New Yorker.
"Towns’ game is utterly atrocious,” Francesa said on his BetRivers web series after the game. “He played 33 minutes and he had 10 points. He had 10 points. He had six rebounds, he didn’t get an offensive rebound. He didn’t get to the foul line, he didn’t get an assist, he didn’t get a steal. He had one block. That game is an embarrassment!"
Postseason pressure undoubtedly weighs a little heavier on Towns, the New York yield in one of the most polarizing trades of the NBA offseason. Towns' struggles culminated all too well in the fourth quarter as he failed to even get a shot off while Jalen Brunson did most of the dirty work in an ultimately futile Knicks comeback.
The absence of Detroit interior bruiser Isaiah Stewart, who missed Game 2 with knee inflammation, cast larger spotlight on Towns' struggles: on a night where the Knicks were out-boarded by 14, Towns had just six rebounds, only two of which came in the fourth quarter.
Francesa did not stop at Towns, as he further called out head coach Tom Thibodeau and the rest of the Knicks' on-floor personnel for forcing Brunson to carry the late burden. Brunson scored a game-best 37 points but that wasn't enough to avert a dire fate.
"If you are going to make all these guys, and that includes OG [Anunoby], and that includes [Josh] Hart, and that includes [Mikal] Bridges, and that includes Towns, if you are going to make them stand around and watch Brunson dribble the ball, back and forth, side to side, head fake, head fake, dive, dive. fine, he’s going to score points. He takes 30 shots," Francesa, the longtime WFAN radio host, said.
The Knicks captain himself was not immune from shooting struggles, as he was 12-of-27 from the field, including 6-of-16 in the second half. Despite that, he kept the Knicks in the game when officials finally offered him invitations from the foul line in the second half, but Francesa refused to label that a viable strategy to beat the Pistons, much less the East's elite that presumably awaits in the later rounds.
“Anybody who takes 30 shots is going to score points," he continued. "[But] half the time, he has got to sucker guys to get to the foul line, which he did 11 times tonight. Turned the ball over six times. That’s not an offense! They might not beat the Pistons playing that way and they will never beat anybody else playing that way.”
