The Knicks shocked everyone by pulling off a trade for Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo at the start of October, and that has transformed both teams. Towns was coming off an up-and-down playoff performance and there was plenty of debate about how good he really was,

Karl-Anthony Towns likely is the player the Knicks can least do without, especially with Mitchell Robinson still unable to practice.

The Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (thumb) is questionable for Friday's game against the Timberwolves, who will be without starter Donte DiVincenzo (toe).

Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is questionable to face his former team Friday with a sprained right thumb, while Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo will miss his return to Madison Square Garden with a toe injury.

Karl-Anthony Towns missed his second straight game because of a sprained right thumb, sitting out against his former team when the New York Knicks hosted Minnesota on Friday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo will be out indefinitely with a toe injury. ESPN reported that DiVincenzo – who has missed the past two games with the injury – has been placed in a walking boot,

Donte DiVincenzo, who recently moved into the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup, is out indefinitely with a big toe injury.

MEMPHIS — Donte DiVincenzo, who recently moved into the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup, is out indefinitely with a big toe injury, the team announced before Monday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. DiVincenzo, a 6-foot-4 guard in his seventh season out of Villanova, had missed the last two games with the injury.

Donte DiVincenzo will not play Friday night when the Timberwolves visit Madison Square Garden for a matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks. His absence could pose significant challenges for Minnesota.

The Wolves’ ability to overwhelm teams with a double-big lineup of Towns and Gobert is gone as Randle isn’t a floor spacer and isn’t a true big. He’s a wrecking ball power forward who is best with the ball in his hands.

The New York Knicks are in a position unfamiliar to anyone who wasn't around for the Patrick Ewing era—or perhaps the 1970s. After decades of inconsistency, New York has officially made the leap to true contender status.