Karl-Anthony Towns’ defense was called out after ECF loss

The New York Knicks failed to reach the NBA Finals.

One of their biggest problems was their defense, in particular, Karl-Anthony Towns defense.

The Indiana Pacers ran wild on the Knicks defense.

Indiana joined the 2019 Golden State Warriors with a historic offensive output of teams to average 115 or more points per game and 28 or more assists per game in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

The Knicks as a team certainly struggled defensively, but Towns, in particular, really had his problems.

This was confirmed by The Athletics Fred Katz and James Edwards .

Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies, Edwards and Katz wrote.

Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns defensive habits less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end.

Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it.

After it became a theme, players worried Towns didnt grasp the importance of the matter.

Knicks players and coaches "expressed frustration" with KAT's defense and felt he was executing coverages incorrectly with no explanation as to why Players felt that KAT did not "grasp the importance" of defense (via @JLEdwardsIII , @FredKatz ) pic.twitter.com/bRZfxapLrd Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 1, 2025 The Knicks will have to regroup for next season.

Defense should be their top focus, as Mikal Bridges cant be the only defensive stopper on your team.

As for Towns, hell have to try his hardest to improve his defensive ability.

If he can, maybe the Knicks will find themselves in the NBA Finals.

This article first appeared on Ball Exclusives and was syndicated with permission..

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