Former Celtics Champion Puts Pressure on Knicks Star

Karl-Anthony Towns was everything the New York Knicks asked of him last season.

He flourished as one of the best stretch bigs in the league, helping to take advantage of the lowly Eastern Conference surrounding his new team in playing an integral role in their reaching the conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

His Third Team All-NBA selection was easily backed up by his impressive statistical season , as he shot 42% from 3-point range en route to 24.4 points per night along with a career-high 12.8 rebounds per game.

Towns had looked the part of the star in the past, and even if he isn't quite the franchise player he was once profiled as, he's proven his worth with back-to-back trips to the third round of the playoffs as a top-two scorer on his team.

Some analysts have seen enough out of Towns that they're ready to start handing out serious expectations, a far cry from the conversations the longtime Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star was surrounded in while he wasted away with his former team.

When you talk about which players are under the most pressure to deliver, thats Karl-Anthony Towns," NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins said.

"Its time for him to deliver.

Its been a lot of criticism when it comes down to Luka Doncic and what he did defensively, and being in shape.

Well, KAT falls in that category." KAT is a walking bucket.

Hes one of one.

Arguably the best shooting big weve ever seen.

Hes really, really skilled, but thats not what he needs to correct.

He needs to correct his ability to get up and down the floor, be able to slide those puppies, because he was getting cooked in the big role.

The question of how Towns' defense would hold up the further the Knicks trooped into the playoffs came to a head in those conference finals, where he struggled to react and rotate in time to slow the run-and-gun Indiana Pacers.

Former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau changed his longstanding starting lineup midway through the series , a decision that Towns only facilitated with his inability to hold up as the low man.

Their subsequent playoff elimination led to a slew of offseason changes, which started with New York electing to move on from Thibodeau and his famously thin bench units.

Mike Brown is set to run the Knicks in his place, and he's expected to wring all he can out of the team's new-and-improved depth.

The team is still expected to lean on Jalen Brunson as their clutch-shooting franchise centerpiece, but right-hand man Towns will be right there alongside him when it's time to dole out credit or blame.

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more! Mikal Bridges Embraces Knicks After Extension Knicks Star Shares Details of Mike Brown Dinner Knicks Pull Ahead in Ben Simmons Free Agency Race Knicks Draft Pick Looking Worthy of Roster Spot Knicks Executive Highly Respected in One Area.

This article has been shared from the original article on si, here is the link to the original article.