The Knicks’ title hopes live! With their backs against the wall, on the brink of elimination, players like Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns played incredibly to keep their team in the Playoffs. Now, they must travel to the GainBridge Fieldhouse to try and level the series. But after the game tonight, Inside the NBA analyst and NBA legend Charles Barkley had a peculiar concern about KAT, which had the Knicks big man pleading the 5th.

You see, a worrying trend is emerging in New York — their players are getting into more foul trouble than ever. Call it frustration. Call it bad luck. Call it the unofficial NBA punishment of the postseason grind—but whatever you name it, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks are feeling it. We saw Brunson foul out in Game 5 against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. And Towns himself has teetered on the edge of fouling out in several games. Tonight was one of them as he ended the game with 5 fouls.

So, Chuck, being Chuck, bluntly asked Towns about why this keeps happening to him. “Well, I got to say something now. I got to criticize you. Yeah, man, why do you be getting them dumb fouls?” asked Barkley. His co-host Shaquille O’Neal chimed in, “I was going to ask the same question.” And their line of questioning had KAT virtually speechless as he could only muster a 3-word response.

“God only knows,“ he replied to the legend’s question.

Now, why was Towns so tight-lipped in his response to Shaq and Charles Barkley? It’s probably because he knows that this is a real issue for him and the Knicks. After all, he had 24 points and 13 rebounds tonight, but all of that could have been for naught if Towns got ejected from the game after hitting 6 fouls. Perhaps that’s the reason he agreed, eventually saying, “I got to do a much better job.”

But as we’ve said earlier, this isn’t a Karl-Anthony Towns problem. It’s a New York Knicks problem. That’s because it runs much deeper than just KAT, with multiple Knicks starters being in the same boat as the former Timberwolves center. And if they don’t work on this before their trip to Indiana, they may lose their chance at forcing a Game 7.

Can Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks get over their foul troubles before it costs them?

Now, you may be saying, “The Knicks’ foul troubles already cost them in Game 5 against Boston.” And you’d be right in saying that. However, despite losing that game, they did win the series. But against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, things are much different. And Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson cannot afford to keep getting called for “them dumb” fouls” as Charles Barkley put it. But why those 3 specifically?

Well, this might be the foulest trio in the NBA right now! They lead the league in this postseason for personal fouls. KAT is head and shoulders above the rest with tonight’s game pushing his tally to 74. Josh Hart is second on the list with 59, and the Knicks’ point guard Jalen Brunson rounds out the top 3 with 58, interestingly sharing the place with Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith.

And stats like these aren’t a winning recipe. Especially in a series as high-stakes as the Eastern Conference Finals. With players getting into foul trouble constantly, Tom Thibodeau has needed to rely on his rotation more heavily than he ever has in the past. Now, whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to what you feel. But can you deny that it leads to bench players seeing erratic minutes? After all, it forces them to cover for their stars, thrust into a position they wouldn’t be in otherwise.

via Imago

Josh Hart even called out Brunson after Game 3 against the Pacers for this. “We trust everybody, one through 15. If he’s down, it just means someone else has to step up…He needs to stop fouling so much. We need him out there,” said Hart. And can you really disagree with the man? Jalen Brunson is the heartbeat of the Knicks’ offense. And losing him to foul trouble early on is paramount to throwing the game away.

All in all, if the Knicks want to force a Game 7 in this series, their task is simple. Firstly, play high-octane basketball; they did that well tonight. Second, avoid foul trouble as much as possible. And this is something they’ll need to show they can do in games moving forward. And if they can’t? Well, it looks like the NBA title may not return to New York after 52 years. That’s over half a century of waiting. And unless the Knicks clean up their act—fast—the wait might just stretch into year 53.