Churning out a top-10 defense shouldn’t be a spicy proposition for the Knicks. They finished 10th in points allowed per possession last year and added Mikal Bridges without forking over regular rotation players.

But the center rotation has since undergone a massive facelift. Isaiah Hartenstein is gone, Karl-Anthony Towns will (presumably) start in the middle, and Mitchell Robinson will not anchor the bench or dual-big setups until, probably, early 2025—if that.

Building a top-10 defense around Towns at 5 has historically been a non-starter. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau knows this firsthand. The Minnesota Timberwolves ranked 26th and 23rd, respectively, in points allowed per possession during his two full seasons at the helm (2016-17 and 2017-18)—years in which Towns played all 82 games.

Still, time has a way of fomenting improvement. And whatever you think of KAT, he has improved.

The Timberwolves allowed under 1.10 points per possession with him at center last year, a mark that rated in the 91st percentile. And for those “Well, actually-ing” by invoking Naz Reid’s name, Minnesota’s defense held serve during Towns’ lone-big minutes, too (99th percentile).

This is not to say the 28-year-old is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate hiding in plain sight. The Timberwolves defense fell below average when he played without Rudy Gobert in 2022-23. Towns has only allowed sub-60 percent shooting at the rim while appearing in more than half of Minnesota’s games once (2018-19).

Putting him in a stark drop is a potential recipe for disaster. But Towns has significantly boosted his overall defensive aggression. He is better and more consistent at his off-ball rotations, and while he’ll never have the quickest lateral movements, his floor navigation in space and traffic has improved, too. If Thibs is willing to bring him up higher, let him pressure the ball/opposing centers and employ more switching, New York can make it work. Though teams will still attack him, KAT’s scram-switching has also gotten better, so the Knicks have the personnel with Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart to bail him out of sticky situations.

Preventing rival offenses from spamming pick-and-rolls involving both Towns and Jalen Brunson will likely be a chore. But again, that’s where it helps to have Hart, Anunoby and Bridges. New York can shape-shift its matchups to prohibit or at least limit the number of times opposing teams attack that combo.

And let’s not forget, Robinson should return at some point. Between him, Precious Achiuwa and Deuce McBride, the Knicks will have pesky defenders coming off the bench. Even if they must rely on offense to get by with the starting five, their full-strength rotation should be able to balance it all out over the course of 48 minutes.