Karl-Anthony Towns is fully aware of what the stakes are. He knows he's eligible for a contract extension this season; he knows he can become a free agent after the season; and his GM Leon Rose has publicly said he's done negotiating. The offer of $200 million is the one on the table.
And in the midst of all that, his team - the one that won its first championship in 53 years - had started the season 0-3. Already whispers of "one and done" and "overrated" were beginning to pick up steam. Something needed to be done.
With the Detroit Pistons in town, KAT decided it was time to send a message. And, boy, did he ever. The big man had 27 points on 12-21 shooting and grabbed 20 rebounds in leading the Knicks to a 111-97 drubbing of the Pistons. He also got into a scrum with Paul Reed in the third quarter to the delight of the Garden faithful. That the win came against the Pistons made it all that much sweeter.
Message received. To paraphrase the great Mark Twain: reports of the Knicks demise have been greatly exaggerated.
While I never doubted this team, it was becoming obvious that they didn't have the same intensity they had last season. It's one thing to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics; it's quite another to blow a ten point lead in the last nine minutes to an Orlando Magics team that was missing its best player Paolo Banchero.
While Towns may not be the best player on this team, he is, nonetheless, an indispensable member of it. Without him, the Knicks don't win games one and two against the San Antonio Spurs. And without those wins, the Spurs might very well have won the series.
To be clear, the issue with Towns has never been about his talent. He's one of the top two centers in the NBA; the other is Nikola Jokic. But there are times when he doesn't play up to his ability; when he looks like he's sleepwalking through the game. We've all seen it. His coach Mike Brown has seen it, which is why he challenged his center at halftime.
And like the champion he is, KAT responded. He let everyone in that arena know - including Reed and the rest of his punk-ass bullies - that he wasn't gonna take any shit from anybody. The Pistons walked all over the Knicks last season, going 3-0. Two of those wins were not remotely competitive. Last night, the roles were reversed. New York led by as many as 27 points in the second half. Take that J.B. Bickerstaff.
With the Chicago Bulls coming up tonight, and Sixers Friday night, the Knicks have a chance to put together a mini win streak.
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