Reunions happen all the time in the NBA. They’re a staple of the constant, ongoing movement in today’s game, especially with journeyman players who have to play with or for a once-hated star or coach. (Just ask Patrick Beverly about this.) Usually they start with a pro forma drill in which the journeyman and the superstar agree to forgive and forget, or the coach announces that he loves his new player’s game and effort and things will be different going forward.
But what’s happening between superstar Karl-Anthony Towns and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t pro forma at all. It’s the ultimate marriage of opposites that didn’t work the first time around for some very good reasons. Towns and Thibodeau both say the circumstances are different and everything will be fine, but there are plenty of reasons to be suspicious going forward.
KAT and Thibodeau are basketball opposites
Start with a simple fact: Karl-Anthony Towns and Tom Thibodeau are opposites in almost every way imaginable. Towns is long, athletic and smooth, with an outside-in game that makes him especially unique among seven-footers.
Thibodeau, meanwhile, is his polar opposite. He’s short and stout and intense, and it is that intensity that has made him a success, especially when it comes to coaching defense. He works his team hard and he usually gets results, albeit at the price of wearing down his players, then wearing out his welcome.
But Towns has never been known for his intensity. He plays hard in crunch time, but he tends to be much more active when he’s scoring and his offensive game shifts into overdrive. He’s been accused of being an indifferent defender, which is a cardinal sin for a coach like Thibs, and Towns has stretches where he coasts and even vanishes.
Welcome to the Karl-Anthony Towns Culture Clash
Who will win the KAT vs. Thibs culture clash? There are two ways to look at this. The first is to examine the culture that Thibodeau has instituted with the Knicks, who have played with an intense edge that did little more than make occasional cameos under previous coaches. If you use that as your yardstick, Thibs will prevail.
But there’s another measuring device that often prevails in this kind of culture war: the salary pecking order. The NBA is a league where the wishes of superstar players often prevail, largely because they make exponentially more money than the guys who are supposed to be in charge of them. Tom Thibodeau is a well-paid coach, but his salary is dwarfed by KAT’s.
KAT vs. Thibs takes the focus away from Jalen Brunson
There’s one last serious risk that needs to be mentioned as well--what happens to Jalen Brunson in this potential clash? New York’s rise in the standings has been keyed by Brunson’s rise to stardom, and he’s the focal point of everything the Knicks do, especially offensively. Towns will undoubtedly score and make Brunson’s life easier on the offensive end, but it’s fair to ask whether the Knicks will lose some of that critical intensity.
It's a fabulous chemistry experiment that comes with all kinds of fascinating possible outcomes. The best case is that Towns meshes with the rest of his teammates, most of whom were also known as the Villanova Knicks because of their intense college pedigrees. It’s also possible that Towns’ focus on scoring and numbers blows up the chemistry set, leaving Thibodeau with a better offensive team that isn’t as strong on defense.
No one quite knows what will happen, least of all the protagonists. Everyone’s saying all the right things about blending talents and putting the team first, but this is the preseason, so what else would they be saying? These issues will likely only surface during the first slump or losing streak, and that’s when we’ll really learn what this pairing is going to be about.