The Knicks center is taking the layoff seriously.
Karl-Anthony Towns is a six-time All-Star, and now he is gearing up for his second straight Eastern Conference Finals with the New York Knicks.
The 30-year-old, a former No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky, averaged 20.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game as New York finished 53-29 and grabbed the third seed in the East.
He wants to be the best version of himself once that next series tips off, and the layoff in between will determine how close he gets there.
Through eight playoff games, Towns is averaging 18.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, with at least six assists in seven straight outings as his playmaking has carried more weight under first-year head coach Mike Brown.
On Sunday he wrapped up the second round with 17 points, 10 assists, and two blocks in just 20 minutes, helping put away Philadelphia in a 144-114 Game 4 blowout in Philly.
Towns Knows What Lies Ahead
After the game, Towns was asked how the Knicks plan to use the extra rest before facing the winner of Cleveland and Detroit.
"At the end of the day, we got to work on ourselves first. We got to be the best version of ourselves first and foremost," Towns said. "So we'll take these days, we'll take tomorrow to heal our bodies, heal our minds, especially me, myself, especially the mind part mentally. And get back to work on us, our offensive execution, our defensive execution, and continue to find ways that we could get better. So when we start the next series, we're at our best version of the year."
Why the Knicks Rolled the Sixers
New York outscored Philadelphia by 95 points across four games and buried 25 threes in the closeout to tie an NBA playoff record for makes in a single game.
Six Knicks scored in double figures Sunday, led by Miles McBride going off for 25 on seven made threes.
They have outscored playoff opponents by 194 points over 10 games now, which is the best 10-game stretch the NBA has ever seen in the postseason.
Mike Brown's defense made Tyrese Maxey work for every touch, and the Knicks held Philadelphia under 100 points twice in the series.
Brown also won the chess match on the sideline with his rotations, giving the bench all the room it needed to stretch leads once starters got their rest.
A Mental Reset for Towns
Towns' comments about resting his mind speak to a tough series where the foul trouble basically never let up.
He picked up four fouls in three of the four games and watched his minutes get capped because of it.
Even so, he found other ways to leave a mark, pulling extra bodies off Jalen Brunson and dropping passes to open shooters all night.
The Knicks now wait on the winner of Cleveland and Detroit, with the Pistons currently leading two games to one.
If Towns can shake the rust and stay out of foul trouble, there might not be a team in the East that wants to see them.