{"id":708571,"date":"2026-04-12T01:03:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T01:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708571\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T01:03:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T01:03:17","slug":"jalen-brunson-karl-anthony-towns-figuring-it-out-at-perfect-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708571\/","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns figuring it out at perfect moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 Much has been expected of Jalen Brunson<\/a> and Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> as a duo from the moment the New York Knicks<\/a> paired them together. At the end of their second season as Knicks teammates<\/a>, it looks like they’re just beginning to realize their offensive potential.<\/p>\n

Since February 1, among the top 50 duos in total screens set, Brunson and Towns’ 1.31 points per direct through on-ball screens<\/a> lead the NBA. Those are scores, generated immediately after the pick, by either the pick-and-roll ball-handler or a pass to an immediate shooter.<\/p>\n

The improved synergy has been noticeable on both the stat sheet and the film. Towns told reporters after the Knicks’ Thursday night win over the Boston Celtics that it was the result of communication between himself and the team’s captain, Brunson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think we had good conversation the last couple of days. Those conversations are showing up in the game, especially in the last two fourth quarters,\u201d Towns said, referring to close victories over the Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. \u201cWhen things get into high-pressure situations, we have leaned on each other and trusted each other. It\u2019s been very good for our team. Shoutout to JB, and shoutout to the guys on the team, for trusting us in those situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

With one regular season game left until a pivotal playoff run<\/a>, it’s great timing for the duo to really pick things up with regard to both their production and the schematic strain they can put on opposing defenses.<\/p>\n

Mike Brown<\/a> breaks down Knicks’ Big-2’s improved synergy\"MayRick Osentoski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Knicks head coach Mike Brown said after Thursday’s win that the team was leaning more heavily into Brunson and Towns’ two-man game, citing the point guard’s off-ball movement and big man’s passing ability as integral<\/a> to the action’s success. He also stressed the importance of this momentum carrying into the team’s upcoming postseason run.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re running a little bit more, than what we had before. Those guys are just getting in rhythm, getting in rhythm at the right time,\u201d Brown remarked. \u201cJalen is great without the basketball. His ability to get open, because he understands angles, is second to none. His ability to change directions without the basketball is second to none. When you have a passer like KAT, who can hand it off or pass late to you, it makes that play really effective. \u2026 The rhythm that those two guys have established these last few games is something they’re going to have to take into the playoffs. Because it’s a really good combination. Obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunson seemed to agree with the notion that he and Towns were an \u201cobvious\u201d match in the pick-and-roll. He answered \u201cno\u201d when asked if he knew why it took so long for the Knicks to run more pick-and-roll between him and Towns, \u201cyes\u201d regarding whether or not the action is worthwhile, and \u201cvery effective play\u201d when asked if he felt Brown should have leaned on it earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After his handling of questions regarding the Knicks’ schemes that would have made any politician proud, though, the captain did make his and Towns’ success sound simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to make the defense make decisions, and just playing off that. I think the longer we\u2019ve been together, the better our chemistry has been,\u201d Brunson told reporters in the Knicks’ locker room on Thursday.<\/p>\n

For the Knicks to win four consecutive playoff series<\/a>, they’re going to need to be able to score in plenty of different ways \u2013 against plenty of different lineups and schemes. Brunson’s isolation scoring, Towns’ barreling drives, and shot-making from the team’s wings are all prerequisites to win a championship.<\/p>\n

Towns understands this. It showed when he expanded on his comments regarding the \u201ctrust\u201d between himself and Brunson.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trusting us, and trusting that we can make the job easier for him. He\u2019s done a great job of utilizing us,\u201d Towns told reporters of the point guard’s Knicks supporting cast. \u201cWe\u2019ve done a great job of making the most of those opportunities. So it\u2019s a two-way street. Shoutout to JB for finding us.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013 Much has been expected of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as a duo from the moment the New York Knicks paired them together. At the end of their second season as Knicks teammates, it looks like they’re just beginning to realize their offensive potential. Since February 1, among the top 50 duos in total screens set, Brunson and Towns’ 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2013 Much has been expected of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as a duo from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,288,563,304,3357,6,11,1136,191,3810,3806,2144],"class_list":{"0":"post-708571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-jalen-brunson","10":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","11":"tag-knicks","12":"tag-mike-brown","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-playoffs","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-knicks","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkknicks","19":"tag-reporting"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116389047099456675","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}