Back in mid-October, as Karl-Anthony Towns voiced his displeasure with the lack of a new contract extension, he also maintained it wouldn’t impact his performance.
He may not have been completely truthful. At least so far, it seems to have pushed him to be even better.
Through eight games, Towns has been the best Knick amid an uneven start for the reigning champions. But, Towns insisted, something bigger is at stake than a new deal.
“I came into the season wanting to defend the championship at all costs,” he said after practice Friday. “Like I said before, the city hasn’t seen that trophy here in New York for 53 years, and all of us in this locker room, especially myself, don’t intend for it to leave.
“Being the No. 1 pick, [reaching] the Finals and getting your title, and having to go out there and try to figure out how to do it again, that’s enough motivation for me.”
Towns has been terrific, even while many teammates have struggled. He is averaging 19.9 points, a career-high 13.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He is shooting a career-best 42.9 percent from 3-point range on 4.4 attempts. He owns a NET rating of plus-9.0, the best among Knicks starters. Towns also leads the team in defensive rebounding percentage at 33.3, which ranks tied for fifth in the league. The 7-footer also has tallied a double-double in every game.
“I just always want to impact winning, and I always try to get every rebound possible for our team so we don’t give up any second-chance points or we give ourselves more chances at second-chance points on offense,” he said. “Obviously, with [Mitchell Robinson] gone, I had to pick up the effort, especially the rebounding effort. When you have one of the greatest offensive rebounders the NBA has ever seen in Mitchell Robinson, it’s a team effort. I just want to do my part to help with rebounding.”
Head coach Mike Brown raved about Towns’ all-around play and was particularly effusive in describing the energy the big man is bringing on a daily basis. If he is unhappy about his current contract, Towns is doing a good job of hiding it.
Brown would like to see Towns improve in two areas: pick-and-roll defense and cutting down on turnovers. His 3.8 turnovers per game would be a career high, up from 2.5 a year ago. Some of that is a product of having the ball in his hands more as an offensive hub.
“I say those two things because he’s been doing so many things well for us,” Brown said. “He’s rebounding, he’s running, he’ s shooting the ball well from 3, he is passing when he doesn’t go for the home run ball, he’s communicating. The energy he’s bringing is great.”
Towns agreed. He has played well, but there are things he can improve upon. When asked about his season in general, he opted to look more at the team’s overall performance.
That’s where his head is at, not individual numbers or a new contract.
“Me and Jalen [Brunson] are here to lead the team. I want to do my part as best as I possibly can. I can’t allow outside distractions and ego to get in the way,” Towns said. “We won last year because we put our egos to the side and we did what’s best for this city, best for this team, this organization, and we sacrificed, and I’m always going to be willing to sacrifice for my brothers and this family that we’ve built here.”
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