Karl-Anthony Towns staring down tougher challenge — regardless of who Knicks face

More change is awaiting Karl-Anthony Towns.

He’s already experienced significant change this postseason in his role in the offense.

In the Eastern Conference finals, there will be notable change in his matchup, regardless of whether it’s the Cavaliers — who are up 3-2 with the series heading back to Cleveland — or the Pistons.

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Towns primarily had the smaller Onyeka Okongwu guarding him in the first round and the hobbled Joel Embiid guarding him in the second round.

When it wasn’t Embiid, it was the past-his-prime Andre Drummond.

There will be more talented defenders for Towns to deal with as the Knicks look to make their first finals appearance since 1999.

The Cavaliers and Pistons present different challenges.

If it’s the Cavaliers, who are now favored to win their series, they have more finesse options in Evan Mobley — the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year — and Jarrett Allen.

Karl-Anthony Towns looks to pass during the Knicks’ May 8 game. Charles Wenzelberg

Both are lengthy and strong shot-blockers — they are second and third, respectively, in blocks per game (behind Victor Wembanyama) in the postseason.

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Allen is at 2.0 blocks per game, while Mobley is at 1.8.

In the final regular-season matchup — an ugly 109-94 Knicks loss in February for which the Cavaliers had their current roster (with James Harden) — Towns was uninvolved in the offense.

He took just five shots and only recorded two assists.

He had five turnovers.

Evan Mobley defends during the Cavaliers’ May 11 game. AP

It came at a time when Towns’ usage — or lack thereof — was a central storyline.

“No matter what we did, we either turned the ball over or we had a tough shot,” Brown said at the time regarding how to get Towns more involved. “We made some play calls [for Towns] tonight, but we didn’t generate anything from the calls that we made.”

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That feels like a completely different universe.

Karl-Anthony Towns looks to pass the ball during the Knicks’ May 6 game. Jason Szenes for the NY Post

Now, the Knicks don’t have to call plays for Towns as they are running their offense through…

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Publish date : 2026-05-15 02:26:00

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