Knicks May Need to Defensively Adjust Around Star Center

Karl-Anthony Towns finally returned to form to start the New York Knicks' Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the rival Indiana Pacers.

The All-Star wasted no time in shaking off a rocky second round series against the Boston Celtics that limited how effective he was from his usually-comfortable 3-point range. Towns knocked down four 3-pointers and connected on jumpers all over the court in notching 35 points in Wednesday night's Game 1, a convincing bounce-back performance after totaling just three long-distance buckets over six games against the defending champion Celtics.

Unfortunately for Towns, his defensive reputation was just as noticeable as his offensive impact. He spent all game getting dragged into switches by various Pacers ball-handlers and shooters, looking just as vulnerable matched up against Myles Turner as the Indiana center looked when he had to guard KAT.

Big key for the Knicks is going to be sustaining defense, Pacers just keep going with ball movement and player movement. Knicks active and physical but it flows into an empty side P&R with Turner/Haliburton. KAT in a drop, Turner banks it on the short roll. pic.twitter.com/Rg1ipxW2xB
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) Knicks Deal Finishing Blow to the Landry Shamet Curse

He's not the fleetest of foot out on the perimeter, which will continue providing Turner with spot-up opportunities if he's able to keep getting his shots off as quickly as he did to start last night's first quarter with five straight buckets without a miss.

While Turner, as good as he is at 6'11, will determine his makes or misses no matter how he's contested, KAT's drop coverage was routinely taken advantage of by Haliburton and friends.

NBA.com'take him downhill credited the All-Star Towns with personally defending 26 shots last night to lead all players by a fair amount, where players like Haliburton could attack him with a head of steam and mdash; Steve Jones Jr. @stevejones20. This drew consistent help when Towns' teammates determined that he'd been beat, and he allowed a dozen buckets to fall on his watch.

The Knicks aren't likely to suddenly switch KAT's approach to at-the-level switching, with New York head coach Tom Thibodeau determining that the drop is the best way to keep Towns from getting in trouble by the arc and maintaining his value as a backpedaling rim protecter with size, but he and his teammates need to maintain their effort when keeping up with the running Pacers. Too many times did Indiana score with the kind of ease that the Knicks couldn't match, benefitting off of miscommunications and a lack of intensity at all the wrong times.

No Defense by Mikal Bridges on a Obi Toppin dunk #YesCers 🖕#Knicks pic.twitter.com/WZi0kB6svQ
— Jeri Tsai (@JeriTsaiNets) Knicks Deal Finishing Blow to the Landry Shamet Curse

May 22, 2025 try to use their stamina to their advantage May 23, 2025 Celtics Legend Slams Knicks: Pacers Gonna Pop Yall.

KAT's return to form as a shooter gives him more reason to see the floor than he did in the second round, but his defensive lapses flip that into a double-edged sword. He'll be a consistent target game after game, and the Knicks will have to whip into shape now that they've already lost home court advantage.

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