標籤: NYs

NEW YORK – Karl-Anthony Towns and Mike Brown have not seen each other in the entire 2025-26 season. It’s natural for a star player and a new head coach to need time to improve their working relationship. It is natural for there to be bumpy places on that road. But the discord between the six-time All-Star and his head coach seemed, at times, inseparable from the New York Knicks’ struggle to implement their new system.

The latest information regarding Brown and Towns came after New York’s Tuesday night win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Following the 121–116 win, the Knicks’ seventh consecutive win, reporters asked the coach about the center’s recent play.

Brown explained, “I’ve had to adjust to him, too. That’s what a season is about. We’re not playing the same offense as we did at the beginning of the year. So I’ve had to make some adjustments to figure out how to get him involved a little better… When he’s on fourth down, we’ve really simplified it so he doesn’t have to think as much. When he doesn’t have to think so much, he can just react.”

The coach previously told the media after a two-point first half loss against the Detroit Pistons in February that Towns needed to make better decisions on the court, saying “the Cats have to read those moments”. Brown’s comments Tuesday told the rest of the story.

“We try to make him more comfortable by keeping him in his spot. He likes to be on top. He doesn’t always stay there, but we’ve added some more things that keep him in there with proper space. And then we found a post-up and ISO position for him that is great from a spacing standpoint, and how he likes to work. Those things, we didn’t have for him at the beginning of the year,” Brown said.

The coach has been happy to blame himself for his group’s various struggles throughout the season until he finally finds a solution. Towns, who averaged 21.7 points per game on 57% shooting in the month of March, should qualify.

Knicks get important injury update as playoffs are just weeks away

The Knicks shared other types of good news on Tuesday, with Brown and the team announcing that Miles McBride has made progress in his recovery. The 25-year-old guard is now back up and participating in scrimmages following surgery in early February to repair a sports hernia. That recovery process has sidelined him for more than a quarter of the regular season so far.

Both he and veteran sharpshooter Landry Shamet are expected to return before the 2026 NBA Playoffs. The Knicks, including center Mitchell Robinson, are projected to be fully healthy for the upcoming postseason. If New York is to meet its expectations, it will need the best from everyone from Brown and Towns to the end of their rotation.