The New York Knicks are amid a tough stretch of their schedule. They’re playing the final game of a five-game road trip, which kicked off with Jalen Brunson being lost for several weeks after injuring his ankle in an overtime loss to the Lakers. New York has evened up their record on the trip after inspiring wins over Sacramento and Portland. They’ll be a massive underdog without their captain against the red-hot Warriors in primetime on Saturday night in the Bay.
Knicks Opportunity for Revenge Over Streaking Warriors
Golden State is 13-2 since Jimmy Butler played his first game with the franchise. They’ve also won 11 of their last 12 contests, one of which was an impressive victory at Madison Square Garden. In that matchup, the Dubs only allowed 102 points to NY’s prolific offense, with Brunson still in the lineup. It was an alarming loss for the Knicks, as GS exposed several structural issues with their lineup’s spacing. However, Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t play. Well, he’ll play tonight, and New York should have revenge on their mind for more than just the loss.
Towns/Draymond Green Drama
In the intervening 10 days between the Warriors’ win at MSG, one of the biggest stories surrounding the two teams was the tension between Towns and Draymond Green. KAT had missed the game for personal reasons, attending to a tragedy in his family. Despite that, seemingly unknowingly, Green insinuated that Towns may have sat the game because he was “ducking” new Warrior Jimmy Butler. Towns and Butler had been teammates for a short time in Minnesota when Butler’s Wolves tenure ended in a nasty contract dispute between him and the franchise. During that period, the star forward made some references to KAT being a “soft” player.
Draymond Green suggests on his podcast that Karl-Anthony Towns missed Tuesday’s game vs GSW because he wanted to avoid Jimmy Butler. Green casually throwing this out there on his platform without researching the situation is extremely irresponsible: pic.twitter.com/UkUpMp2111
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) March 6, 2025
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While that was nearly seven years ago now, some lingering resentment may exist between the two players. However, Towns clearly was not avoiding the matchup and will suit up for the Knicks tonight in San Francisco. He will also be New York’s first option with Brunson still sidelined.
Knicks Get Opportunity For a Huge Win Over Warriors
While the drama involving Towns and Green (which both have now shrugged off) might be the big story for Knicks fans, much more important is the basketball game happening tonight. It’s both a measuring stick game for New York against one of the league’s hottest teams and an opportunity to get back at GS by addressing the weaknesses Steve Kerr exposed in last week’s loss. Obviously, without their leader in Brunson, not much can be taken away if they come up short. Even so, NY can prove they’ve learned their lesson from the defeat in a strategic sense.
In the 114-102 loss to GS last Tuesday, Tom Thibodeau learned a couple of very valuable lessons. First, Precious Achiuwa‘s minutes had to be reduced because of his offensive shortcomings. Since that 30-minute outing, he’s averaged just 10 minutes a night. Achiuwa is a solid player who gives 100 percent every minute he’s on the floor. He’s also an incredibly versatile defender. Unfortunately, his inability to catch and shoot confidently as well as make quick decisions with the ball often hamstrings the Knicks’ offense. Fast defenses with sharp coaching such as the Warriors can render an offense useless when there are too many exposable weaknesses like that. We saw this in the matchup, as GS simply dared Achiuwa to make a play offensively while sending two defenders at every capable Knicks ball-handler, not just Brunson.
KAT’s Return Will Help
This issue was made much worse without Towns in the lineup. New York was forced to run groups with Achiuwa next to Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson. Hart is mired in a deep shooting slump to the point where he’s reluctant to even take jumpers. With that, teams are leaving him wide open as he stands with the ball at the top of the key. The same goes for their other non-shooter in Robinson. Essentially, anytime one of Achiuwa, Hart, or Robinson is on the floor, the other four players must be capable shooters. Playing two of the three destroys New York’s elite offense, which is the strength of the team.
Miles McBride should receive much more than the 24 minutes he played that night, especially with Brunson out. New York should strive to never have two non-shooters on the floor and even run some lineups with zero when Brunson returns. For now, expect a lot of McBride, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Towns, and Hart/Robinson lineups. New York has a chance to right their wrongs, get revenge on behalf of Towns, and prove they’re still one of the NBA’s elite squads.
Photo credit: © Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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