Karl-Anthony Towns has run hot and cold this season, and rumors about the Knicks trading him, following 9 losses in 12 games, haven’t helped. The Knicks front office seems firmly behind KAT, especially after the 54-point win over the Nets. Anthony will aim to repay that faith when the Knicks take on a much stronger Philadelphia 76ers tonight.
Advertisement
Despite his abysmal shooting stats this season, the Knicks seem to be betting on his elite floor spacing and hope that he will find chemistry with the rest of the team, as together, they adapt to Mike Brown’s new system. That said, Towns will need to be fit enough to let it happen.
Towns seems to have been suffering from thoracic back spasms, which can make his life extremely uncomfortable to say the least, especially for a 7-foot-tall center who relies heavily on his physicality to move around on the court. The Knicks are 3rd in the Eastern Conference with a 26-18 record and have just snapped off a 4-game losing streak. So, this injury is really just bad timing.
Despite his poor showing this season, the Knicks are evidently willing to take their time with Towns, so they would ideally like to see him rested for what has become a surprisingly competitive year in the Eastern Conference.
As such, the New York Knicks have listed Karl-Anthony Towns as Questionable for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Knicks are listing Karl-Anthony Towns as questionable tomorrow at PHI due to thoracic back spasms. For Sixers, both Paul George and Joel Embiid are listed as probable to play
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 23, 2026
Towns will hope to return to action soon and pay off the faith that the team has shown in him. Unfortunately, his numbers have fallen off a cliff this season. He’s averaging 20.8 points to the 24.4 he was scoring last season. His field goal percentage has also seen a notable dip, as have his three-point shooting stats.
On paper, an average of 20 isn’t necessarily bad, but there have been days when he’s just looked clueless on the court. During January 15’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, Towns went scoreless in the second half, which even drew the public ire of coach Mike Brown.
It wasn’t the first time Brown had done that this season, and it won’t be the last. Towns has evidently had issues adjusting to Brown’s new system. It has been a major shift from playing under Tom Thibodeau last season, but he will need to adapt, and so, he sees a future for himself in Manhattan. Hopefully, he can work on that once he heals fully.
