The New York Knicks have an opportunity to add insult to injury on Thursday night when they square off against the Timberwolves in Minnesota.
This will be the first time the two teams have met since the blockbuster trade in the summer, which sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York for a package featuring Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
Towns has looked like a legitimate MVP candidate in his first two months as a Knick, averaging 24.8 points and 13.9 rebounds per game this season. He is coming off one of his biggest performances of the season during Sunday’s 100-91 win over the Orlando Magic, recording 22 points while pulling down 22 rebounds — just the sixth time in his career that he has had that many boards.
Yet the 29-year-old still believes he is just scratching the surface in New York.
“I got more I could give and do and play better,” Towns said. “But it’s just different. It’s just a different role I’m in. I’m in a different role. It’s just like I said before: I just want to be a superstar in my role, whatever that role may be for our team, and I was asked to be the 5 (center) here. And I just want to be the best I could be.”
New York has won six of its last eight games to improve to 16-10 on the season, currently good for third in the Eastern Conference.
The trade has been less beneficial for the Timberwolves, who, at 14-11, hold the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Randle, who overcame a dislocated shoulder suffered last season with New York, is averaging 20.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game this season — his lowest PRA total since 2017-18 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
DiVincenzo has struggled even more in Minnesota, averaging just 8.3 points per game on 35.1% shooting from the field and 31.9% from three-point range. This is a considerable drop in production from his lone year with the Knicks when he averaged 15.5 points per game while shooting 40.1% from deep.
