NBA analyst urges Karl-Anthony Towns to study Hall of Fame big man to help Knicks | Sporting News

The New York Knicks essentially went all-in with their trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.

Now there is a lot of pressure on Towns to not only deliver on the offensive end, but also to elevate his game defensively.

Under Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks have almost always deployed a classic, rim-protecting center. In Towns, the Knicks could a spread five who could make them dynamic on offense, but he has never been a defender of the caliber of Mitchell Robinson or Isaiah Hartenstein.

If Towns wants to find a way to solidify his game and have an impact on winning, NBA analyst Tom Haberstroh believes Towns should study NBA Hall of Famer Chris Bosh.

While appearing on Yahoo’s “The Kevin O’Connor Show,” Haberstroh said Bosh made a similar adjustment with the Miami Heat in the early 2010s, and it resulted in two championships.

“What I want Karl-Anthony Towns to do is just to sit down watch Chris Bosh tape from 2013,” Haberstroh said.

“Because Chris Bosh was similarly skilled as Karl-Anthony Towns, a lot of hype, was a 20-and-10 guy over in Toronto, and then came over with the Miami Heat and had to sacrifice a lot of touches offensively. But in 2013, when he became the pace-and-space stretch five … from then on, Karl-Anthony Towns should be Chris Bosh. Lock down defensively, move around and be able to be that pick-and-roll defender and shot-blocker … be smart, play within himself, and just hit every shot.”

Haberstroh added: “[Towns] is gonna be a guy that I think could be the Chris Bosh of this New York Knicks team. And that is not a knock: I think Chris Bosh was one of the most underrated players of the last two decades in the NBA.”

Towns has long been an inconsistent defender. He struggled defensively at center, which led the Minnesota Timberwolves to trade for Rudy Gobert and slide Towns down to power forward.

Towns has had his moments defensively, like in last year’s playoffs when he guarded Nikola Jokic as well as anyone has as the Wolves beat the Denver Nuggets. Of course, switching from power forward to being a defensive anchor at center is a different role for Towns.

Haberstroh noted that Bosh was not viewed as a defensive anchor before joining the Heat. He developed into that role and eventually anchored a top-10 defense that won a championship. Haberstroh thinks that with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart guarding the perimeter, Towns has defensive help that he didn’t have when he played center in Minnesota.

The trade was a big gamble for the Knicks — that Towns will elevate their offensive ceiling enough and that they have the defensive infrastructure to withstand any drop-off.

It could also be a gamble that Towns could grow into a smaller, but more impactful role than he’s played before. He could look to Bosh for inspiration.

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