Knicks Notes: Towns, Hart, Brunson, Brown

Karl-Anthony Towns‘ persistent foul issues continue to be a problem for the slumping Knicks, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News writes in a subscriber-only story. With the team short-handed due to injuries, it’s important that Towns stay on the court as much as possible. However, with backup center Mitchell Robinson unavailable in Thursday’s game at Golden State due to load management, Towns picked up two early fouls, forcing coach Mike Brown to use a makeshift lineup.

“I don’t know. That’s more of something that you have to figure out individually. Me telling him to not foul seems a little redundant,” Josh Hart said. “He has to be smarter in terms of defensively showing his hands, just being more solid. And I think that’s what it is — being solid, more fundamentally sound. And at times, laying off the officials.”

Towns currently ranks fifth in the league with 136 personal fouls after finishing third in that category last season. Winfield points out that other players who accumulate a lot of fouls tend to be physical defenders, but Towns’ foul trouble is often the result of poor judgment.

“All of our guys — not just KAT — all of our guys have to lead with their chest and show their hands,” Brown said. “The officials allow you out on the floor to hand-check now a little bit, so that’s the time. It’s not just KAT. It’s all of us. It wasn’t just one guy — a whole team. So we gotta do a better job in that area, just in general.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

• Towns’ regression is the biggest concern since Brown took over as head coach, observes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). Bondy states that Towns is shooting poorly and adjusting slowly and may be in danger of not being selected for the All-Star Game. “It’s a learning process for all of us and we’re just still adjusting and getting used to a new system,” Towns said after Thursday’s game. “Especially me.”
• Hart and Jalen Brunson are both sitting out tonight’s game against Phoenix due to ankle injuries, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). It’s the second straight missed game for Brunson, who sprained his right ankle on Wednesday, and Brown called him “day to day.” (Twitter link). On Hart, who’s dealing with pain in his right ankle, Brown said, “He’s just a little sore so we’re just going to be cautious, especially this time of year.”
• Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post offers a performance review for Brown at the halfway mark of his first season in New York.