The New York Knicks’ start to the season under new coach Mike Brown has been underwhelming, including a poor second-half performance against the Milwaukee Bucks. Key players are injured, and some are experiencing teething problems within Brown’s new offense. The team is sitting last in the NBA in field-goal percentage through four games.
One of the reasons the Knicks chose to relieve coach Tom Thibodeau of his duties, despite a Conference Finals appearance, was to help unlock Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the finest stretch-fives of the modern era. However, Towns had an anonymous 8 points on 2-12 shooting against the Bucks, raising serious concerns about his comfort level in the new offense. Indeed, Towns alluded to it himself.
Karl-Anthony Towns Blasted in Media for Rough Start Under Mike Brown
Eyebrows were raised when a reporter asked Towns how he sees himself in the new offense. He shook his head and replied, “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Unquestionably, some are taking longer than others to adjust to Brown’s uptempo, movement-based offense, which he previously instilled with the Sacramento Kings. Primarily, Brown runs a lot of “spray” three concepts.
So far, Jalen Brunson has taken to it like a duck to water. Mikal Bridge has also seen a considerable uptick in performance. The same, however, cannot be said for Towns.
One outspoken media member and former NBA Champion has particularly had it with Towns and put the All-Star on blast. “When is it gonna stop?” asked Kendrick Perkins rhetorically on ESPN.
“Seriously, I’m expecting better from you,” Perkins aimed. “Obviously, you didn’t want Thibs because you didn’t want Thibs in Minnesota. So they bring in Mike Brown, and you’re still picking up those dumb, silly fouls…those fouls come from a lack of effort…I thought you would come into the season in better shape, but you didn’t.”
.@KendrickPerkins has a message for Karl-Anthony Towns pic.twitter.com/zadxoEcZyH
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 29, 2025
It’s fair to critique precisely what system Towns prefers. Within Thibodeau’s half-court isolation offense, he largely only excelled when Brunson was off the floor as the main option. So far, and it’s early, but Towns looks lost unless he gets put in five-out sets. He will need to adapt quickly and develop chemistry with the superb Brunson for his team to progress.
Presumably, the wish would be for Towns to be deployed similarly to how Domantas Sabonis was with the Kings. However, Towns is not the playmaker that Sabonis is.
Towns’ body language tells its own story. He looks lost within the offense, shooting just 40.5% from the field. There was one point against the Bucks where he failed to back down and post up Kyle Kuzma despite a considerable size advantage. Granted, Towns has never been a bully-ball type player in the paint despite his size, but it is a glaring example of the holes that still exist in his game in year 11 of his career, that he only seems comfortable on the perimeter.
Another blatant hole in his game is the constant foul trouble he attracts each night, and his notorious problems defending the paint. Giannis Antetokounmpo lit him up in the paint.
It may have a lot to do with his quad strain, which is hampering his movement, and he may need to rest it. However, that doesn’t explain the foul trouble that has plagued him throughout his career. Perkins raises some good points, noting that Brown has spoken to him about it, yet it still hasn’t hit home to the player.
The Knicks are meant to be on the precipice of competing for a championship, but they need everyone, especially All-Stars like Towns, to buy into the new system.
