Through the first 13 games of the 2024-25 season, Towns was averaging 26.2 points, his highest output since 2019-20, while shooting career-highs from both the field (54%) and three-point range (51%). However, the former Timberwolves big man struggled to fit into Tom Thibodeau’s defensive system due to his inability to protect the rim, especially in drop coverage on pick-and-rolls.
According to NBA.com stats, Towns was contesting just 5.5 two-point shots per game, which ranked him 20th in the league among centers. To make matters worse, he was allowing his one-on-one matchups to shoot an alarming 54.1 percent from the field. Towns had allowed matchups like Alperen Sengun (7-for-8), Nikola Vucevic (5-for-7), Evan Mobley (3-for-4) and Myles Turner (7-for-13) to get the better of him at the rim.
Towns’ inability to protect the rim was the reason the Knicks ranked a paltry 21st in the league in defensive efficiency, allowing teams to score 115.3 points per 100 possessions. By comparison, the Knicks were a respectable ninth in the metric in the 2023-24 season.