By james art Karl-Anthony Towns’ career with the New York Knicks is off to a slow start. In three games so far, he has scored just 9.3 goals from play per game, which pales in comparison to his career average of 16. Gilbert Arenas discussed the circumstances. He expressed his displeasure with Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks’ head coach, for failing to adapt to KAT’s style of play.
The three-time All-Star noted at Gil’s Arena that the Knicks are used to playing without a big-hitting center. Knicks centers like Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson have been overlooked offensively in recent years.
The Knicks rotate the ball from guard to forward, but aren’t accustomed to passing it to a high-volume shooter like KAT. Therefore, Coach Tibbs’ offensive scheme is insufficient to get the most out of Towns. According to Gilbert Arenas: “You haven’t passed the ball to the five in how many years? These were guards. So you don’t really have any plays for this guy[Towns] at the Five. So the fact that he plays five and can’t see the ball, that’s just your offense.”
“You haven’t passed the ball to the five in how many years? So you don’t really have plays for [KAT].”
Gilbert Arenas on why KAT is fighting the New York Knicks. pic.twitter.com/bkfBSfLYEB
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) October 29, 2024
Instead of using the same coaching strategies he used the last four years with the Knicks, Arenas believes Thibodeau can handle the problem more effectively. Arenas also bemoans the fact that traditional coaches, like Thibodeau, are often too casual and unable to teach young players how to find open looks.
Consequently, he held the Knicks head coach responsible for Towns’ complete lack of involvement in the offense.