Karl-Anthony Towns was shockingly benched for much of the fourth quarter in the New York Knicks‘ East Finals Game 2 loss to the Indiana Pacers. And the reason why offers a worrisome outlook on the All-Star for the rest of the series.
On Friday night, the Knicks looked to avoid a worst-case scenario of heading to Indiana down 2-0 in their Eastern Conference Finals series. Unfortunately, after four hard-fought quarters and being down by just three in the final minute, the Knicks lost a second straight playoff game on their home court. There was a notable absence during the fateful fourth quarter: Karl-Anthony Towns.
Despite scoring 20 heading into the fourth, Towns didn’t enter the quarter until the final minutes. And the main reason that happened was Indiana deciding to use the “Hack-a-Mitch” strategy on big man Mitchell Robinson. Following last night’s game, head coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about leaving the All-Star game starter out for much of crunch time. And his explanation doesn’t show a ton of confidence in the big man.
Why was Karl-Anthony Towns benched for much of fourth quarter in Game 2?
“We got in a hole. And then the group that was in there gave us a chance,” Thibodeau said on the post-game press conference [h/t Hoops Hype]. “So we were just riding (that lineup). We’re searching for a win.”
After Jalen Brunson, Towns was New York’s top player this season. Especially on offense. The five-time All-Star averaged just over 24 points this season. Furthermore, the center shot a near-career-best 42% from three-point range in 2024-25. He would seem like the type of player who should be on the floor to help quickly dig the New York Knicks out of a deficit.
Karl-Anthony Towns stats (2024-25): 24.4 PPG,12.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 42% 3PT
Knicks coach doesn’t trust KAT?
His absence for much of the fourth was proof that the coach does not have much faith in his starting center’s defense. Something he does have in Mitchell Robinson. However, the backup center is offensively challenged outside of lobs and putbacks. The pair also had alleged issues several years back when Thibodeau had a short run as head coach of the Timberwolves.
The Pacers have looked to attack Town’s defense often in the series with a lot of success. If he can’t improve his defense, he could end up on the bench often in crunch time the rest of this series.
