An NBA Hall of Famer challenged Karl-Anthony Towns to live up to his talent.
Tracy McGrady, speaking with The Post’s Adam Schein on “Schein Time,” was asked how the Knicks can win the East this postseason.
When McGrady pointed to maximizing Towns’ ability, he put it on Towns’ mentality.
“He’s just gotta have the want to,” McGrady said. “He’s gotta want that. I’m sure coaches and his teammates are talking to him about that. He’s gotta want that. He’s gotta want that for himself and for his team. And if he takes that approach, that mentality, nobody can guard KAT. No one. This guy is so talented.
“The things that he can do on the basketball court — something at that size, when he puts his mind to it, he can’t be guarded. Because he has so much that he can give you, whether it’s inside, outside, his passing ability, setting screens, popping back for threes, the driving ability, finishing at the rim, he can do a lot of things. But it’s up to KAT to put his stamp on these games.”
Towns’ production and efficiency are both down from last year — he is averaging 20.2 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting from the field and 36.6 percent shooting from 3-point range this year — all of which would be his lowest since his rookie year.
But Towns, who has echoed coach Mike Brown’s sentiment that he has had the biggest adjustment in the new offensive system, has been much better recently as he grows more comfortable.
McGrady also pointed to the Knicks defense as a potential concern heading into the playoffs.
“I don’t think they’re missing anything. I think they have everything they need. I think what’s wrong with the Knicks is they lost their identity,” McGrady said. “Thibs [Tom Thibodeau] had those guys last year playing defense every single night. Tough defense, that was their identity. They hung their hat on the defensive side of the ball. So when the team wasn’t playing great offense, defensively, they were able to lock down and still be able to pull out games because they have a closer in Jalen Brunson. That’s off-kilter this year. There was a lot of inconsistency. Then you look at Karl-Anthony Towns, there’s a lot going on with him where people wanted more out of him.
It should be noted, though, that the Knicks entered Thursday with a defensive rating of 111.7 — fifth-best in the NBA.