The inside pillars performed poorly on both ends of the offense and defense. Are the Knicks really in big trouble now?

In a previous NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks who played at home 114-108 again. After this game, the Pacers widened the total score of the series to 2-0. Next, they will return to home court to continue fighting. It seems that they have already gained an absolute advantage and initiative in this round of series, as they have won two consecutive away games.

In this game, the performance of Knicks' starting center Karl-Anthony Towns was shocking. Towns played 27 minutes and 41 seconds in the game, made 6 of 14 shots, 2 of 5 shots from outside the three-point line, and 6 of 6 free throws, and scored 20 points and 7 rebounds. He also had one turnover and three fouls, and the plus-negative value was lower than the lowest level of the game -20. Towns has a sloppy touch on the offensive end, his scoring ability has not been fully utilized, and he has not provided more support to the team in other aspects. The most important thing is that Towns' performance on the defensive end is simply a terrible level. He was beaten by his opponents on the court. He had huge problems in his defensive ability and defensive focus, and he was in a bad state in rebound protection. Towns' performance in this game was completely unable to meet everyone's expectations, and he did not show his due strength at all, which is also a key factor in the team's defeat.

In the NBA regular season this season, Towns played 72 games in 82 games, averaging 35 minutes per game, averaging 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 2.7 turnovers and 3.5 fouls. He shot 52.6%, three-point shooting percentage 42%, and free throw shooting percentage 82.9%. In the playoffs, Towns played a total of 36 minutes in 14 games, averaging 35.4 minutes, averaging 20.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He also had 1.9 turnovers and 4.3 fouls, shooting percentage of 49.1%, three-point shooting percentage of 36.8%, and free throw shooting percentage of 91%.

Downs' performance in the previous stages of the playoffs was actually quite good. He has very good scoring ability, and at least he has a certain rebounding ability on the defensive end. As a result, his performance in this game was so terrible that it was simply unbelievable. Towns is the Knicks' inside pillar, and his role in the team and his influence on the game are very critical. If he can only play like this, it is obvious that the Knicks will be in big trouble in this round of the series. I wonder if Towns can perform better in the next series. Can he help the team turn the situation around?