The Knicks’ season hinges on unlocking their Karl-Anthony Towns enigma

The Knicks won a game over the weekend in Philadelphia, an important victory given the circumstances, but it did nothing to quell the issue.

If you’ve been following the Knicks this season, you understand what I’m talking about. From Day 1 of this campaign, it’s been about Karl-Anthony Towns, a player who frequently operates at the ends of the spectrums of All-Star and liability.

In the Saturday 112-109 victory over the 76ers, Towns watched most of his team’s second-half success from the bench, the result of (what else is new?) too many fouls. He managed just 16 minutes with six personals and 10 points, while his center counterpart, Joel Embiid, was gobbling up points in the first half like it was 2022.

Then Mitchell Robinson subbed out Towns in the third quarter, the defense turned up a few notches, and the momentum flipped.