Breaking down Karl-Anthony Towns’ NBA-leading rebounding campaign with Knicks

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After playing the power forward position for a couple of seasons, questions surrounded Karl-Anthony Towns moving back to his natural position at center for the Knicks. Would he be able to defend and rebound to the level required by a Tom Thibodeau-coached team coming off being one of the scrappiest in the league?

While this Knicks defense has had more questionable than promising moments, one place Towns has more than thrived is on the boards. He’s averaging a whopping 13.6 rebounds a night — tied for first in the league — helping New York keep above average on the boards despite losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and Mitchell Robinson to injury.

How real is Towns’ rebounding, and what does it mean for a Knicks team trying to nail down its identity?

On the defensive glass, Towns truly has been among the NBA’s elite this season. His defensive rebound rate is second in the league at 31 percent, and the Knicks grab 72.5 percent of opponent misses with him on the floor, 11 percentage points higher than him off and good for top five in the league.

These are career-high numbers for KAT, who was known as a voluminous rebounder during his early years at the five, but has taken his skill to the next level this season. It’s been a massive boon for the Knicks, who otherwise boast few strong rebounders — a problem that’s reared its head numerous times this early season.

But Towns has been the silver lining in that department, and the eye test matches his bodacious numbers. Besides the sporadic loss of focus, Towns puts his body on someone, leaps and reaches out to snare misses with two hands in a complete display of his physical tools.

Towns has been strong enough to physically compete with anybody in the painted area for position and loose balls, and his bounce and 7-foot-4 wingspan help him sky above most competing bigs. He does a strong job reeling in the ball to secure it once he gets his hands on it, and quickly turns to make the right outlet or find a streaking Knick down the court.

On the offensive glass, Towns has also been solid — around his career bests. However, his performance there hasn’t been…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/breaking-down-karl-anthony-towns-153002371.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-12-13 15:30:00

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