NBA playoffs 2026: Can Point KAT take New York to the Finals?

IT WASN’T QUITE a disaster level, however maybe it was a crossroads. The New York Knicks have been trailing 2-1 in the first-round collection in opposition to the pesky upstart Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks had proved they have been uniquely certified to deal with the Knicks’ offense with Jalen Brunson as its fulcrum, using switchable defenders who had no drawback promoting out in opposition to New York’s undersized captain and prime scorer. After all, the Hawks hadn’t wanted to fear about a lot else by the collection’ first three video games.

But Knicks coach Mike Brown, who had spent nearly all of his first season at the helm in New York wrestling with how to finest use Brunson’s most adorned teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns, was about to ship a message that may flip the squad right into a playoff juggernaut.

In the crew’s movie session on the day between Games 3 and 4 in Atlanta, issues bought actual. Brown is soft-spoken when talking publicly about his gamers, however movie periods are sometimes autopsies through which unstated truths are laid naked and accountability is demanded.

And throughout one second on that late-April day in Atlanta, Brown appeared to Towns.

The movie had simply proven a play from Game 3 through which Towns was supposed to display screen for Brunson however stood in the nook as an alternative. Brown referred to as him out. “You want the ball? What are you doing here?” a supply with information of the movie session advised ESPN.

Whether it was a watershed second or a last-ditch effort from Brown to revive a Knicks season nearing its brink, that movie session birthed the machine that has turn out to be the crew’s playoff offense, which has powered seven consecutive wins heading into Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals in opposition to the Cleveland Cavaliers (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

It started with a demolition of the Hawks. The Knicks closed them out in Game 6 with a 59-point drubbing. “In a way, it felt like [Brown] saying, ‘Screw it, I’m going to do things my way,'” one Knicks participant advised ESPN of the model change.

Going down 3-1 in the first spherical — after Knicks proprietor James Dolan shared his NBA Finals expectation in January — would’ve been disastrous. Panic, particularly in the cauldron of New York City and Madison Square Garden, certainly would have set in. “The Atlanta Hawks made us better,” Brown mentioned after the collection.

For Brown, necessity sparked innovation. He retooled the offense on the fly, including sides of the now-legendary Golden State Warriors motion philosophy carried out by coach Steve Kerr. Brown noticed loads of it as a Warriors assistant from 2016 to 2022.

As a end result, New York’s most up-to-date wins have been huge, with a degree differential of plus-24.5 throughout the franchise-record playoff successful streak. The crew’s offensive ranking throughout the streak (130.5 factors per 100 possessions) is the finest amongst 2026 playoff groups, and it is capturing 60% from the subject and almost 40% from 3-point vary — all effectively above its season averages.

The shift did not precisely come out of nowhere. “We’ve had it,” Brunson mentioned, as Brown used the sparse observe time throughout the common season to put a secret weapon in place:

In case of emergency, unlock Point KAT.

AFTER GAME 4 in Atlanta, there was no indication the Knicks’ offensive shift was far more than a one-game reprieve. Towns’ triple-double that evening was simply his second of the season, and there wasn’t a lot statistical proof to help a transfer to a full-time point-center position.

Towns is one among the finest capturing huge males in NBA historical past, however he’s additionally a talented passer and wears No. 32 as a result of Magic Johnson is his idol. In that Game 4 win, Towns discovered OG Anunoby for six of his 10 assists, and it was infectious. When Towns drew two defenders driving to the basket, he made straightforward passes for 3-point pictures. When the 7-footer peered over smaller defenders from the prime of the key, he may simply find cutters coming off screens.

And throughout the Knicks’ present run, his averages have appeared like he has performed point-center his total profession: 15.7 factors, 9.6 rebounds and eight.0 assists on 60% capturing in simply 26.3 minutes.

“He’s been a big inspiration in my life, and to be able to have this moment is great,” Towns mentioned afterward, referencing Johnson, who is taken into account by many to be the biggest level guard of all time. “Like Magic, I always talk about impact and winning, and to be able to amplify my teammates is one of the greatest honors.”

The Knicks appeared extra like Kerr’s Warriors than the Showtime Lakers, however Towns’ teammates appeared to get a jolt of vitality from his efficiency. The model of play made everybody really feel concerned, and its unpredictability saved them alert. “When you will have guys that move the ball, like Draymond Green, like [Domantas] Sabonis, like KAT, you strive to make the most of their strengths to assist others out, make others higher,” Brown mentioned earlier this week.

“Putting KAT in that position, knowing that we have great screeners, great cutters and a great facilitator, was something that was definitely easy to say, ‘Yes, let’s try it.'”

This is Towns’ third consecutive convention finals. In his first two journeys — final season with New York and in 2024 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he tallied 66 assists in 34 video games, or 1.9 per sport. In simply 10 video games this postseason, he has already matched that whole for a sturdy 6.6 per sport. Towns’ time of possession has additionally skyrocketed. Based on GeniusIQ monitoring, six of his prime eight video games by on-ball share this season have come throughout this latest surge.

Green and Sabonis, whom Brown coached in Golden State and with the Sacramento Kings, respectively, have been a bit completely different from Towns. Those huge males used passing as a approach to make up for his or her capturing deficiencies and maintain from clogging the lane. Towns is a way more numerous shooter, so this playmaking revelation has made him far more troublesome to guard.

The pivot has additionally subsequently unlocked different struggling Knicks. Anunoby was already having an amazing begin to his postseason, scoring 29 in the dropping effort in Game 3 vs. the Hawks. But this newfound system ensured he does not get misplaced. (Anunoby, who’s coping with a hamstring damage, is listed as possible for Tuesday’s convention finals opener.)

And it’d’ve saved Mikal Bridges from being persona non grata in New York. Bridges went scoreless in 20 minutes in Game 3, and Brown was requested about benching the participant the Knicks traded a lot of their draft capital for, with the season on the line. Since then, Bridges has been refreshed, averaged 15.6 factors on 67% capturing and 44% from 3-point vary.

As for Brunson, his numbers have not taken successful: 27.4 factors per sport with lower than one fewer help. Meanwhile, he is having his most effective postseason as a Knick.

That’s partly as a result of Towns is not simply passing extra total; he is passing with extra function. This postseason, 18.5% of his passes have was assists, per GeniusIQ, which leads the league (minimal 100 passes). That price is greater than double what Towns managed in the common season. He additionally joined Hall of Famer Walt Frazier as the solely Knicks with a number of playoff triple-doubles — at any level of their careers, not simply inside a single postseason.

It’s a method shift that has undoubtedly paid off for the Knicks and their star middle. But it additionally begs the query: Where was this all season?

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BROWN WAS TASKED with many issues all through his first season at the helm in New York. Maximizing Towns appeared low on the record of targets, a speaking level that dominated a lot of the Knicks’ common season. Towns, for his half, toed the firm line, solely often letting on any consciousness that his manufacturing had dipped from his All-NBA first season in New York.

The distinction in Towns’ numbers earlier than this season’s All-Star break and his numbers from 2024-25 was stark. That, plus the lack of a contract extension on the eve of this season, may have created a rift between star and franchise.

Last season, Towns averaged 24.7 factors and 13.3 rebounds on 53% capturing, together with 44% from 3. In the new setup below Brown, Towns was down to 19.8 factors and 11.9 rebounds on 47% capturing, together with 37% from 3.

“I’ve unfortunately had to adjust to a lot of head coaches,” Towns mentioned in January. “A lot of new teammates and situations and stuff, so just leaning on my experience, and we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to move forward.”

And following a 3rd straight thrashing at the arms of the Detroit Pistons in the first sport after the All-Star break, this time at Madison Square Garden, Brown tried to lay out the pecking order to maintain issues clear. He held his hand up to signify Brunson as the first choice. He introduced it down a couple of inches to the place Towns landed.

“I look at [Towns’ offense], and he’s probably right where it should be,” Brown mentioned earlier than the Knicks’ comeback win over the Houston Rockets in February. “He gets the second-most attempts behind Jalen. …

“If this does not work, I bought to change this. Our offense is completely different from now to what it was in the preseason, as a result of I had to regulate.”

From that point on, so did Towns. He didn’t take more shots; in fact, his attempts decreased. But he has always been an effective offensive rebounder, so he put more emphasis on getting to the glass for his scoring opportunities.

Towns’ effectivity soared for the remainder of the season: 58% total and almost 42% from 3, large jumps from his pre-All-Star manufacturing. The uncooked numbers did not take a leap, however Brown admitted he made alterations to the offense to characteristic Towns extra closely.

But the first actual glimpse of Point KAT did not come till April 1. With Brunson sitting due to ankle soreness, Towns was seemingly unlocked throughout a 20-point, 11-assist, 11-rebound efficiency on the highway in opposition to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Towns now has 4 video games with double-digit assists since the begin of April: the win in Memphis, Games 4 and 6 in opposition to Atlanta and the clinching sport of the Knicks’ sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers. But, with the franchise’s first Finals look this century at stake, Towns and the Knicks’ retooled offense will face their hardest check but.

NEITHER THE KNICKS nor the Cavs are actually ready for what they’ll see when the convention finals tip off Tuesday evening at the Garden.

Last spherical, the 76ers have been in some methods too excellent a matchup for the Knicks. Because Philadelphia needed to defend Joel Embiid from being uncovered together with his latest accidents, they elected to have Embiid sag off when guarding Towns. It offered greater than sufficient area for Towns to consider cutters and off-ball screens. And when smaller defenders similar to Paul George took on the task, Towns noticed over the prime.

When he drove to the basket, defenses collapsed, leaving gamers similar to Brunson, Anunoby and Bridges for open appears to be like. (That’s very true on nook 3s, the place the Knicks shattered the NBA report with greater than 5 per sport in the common season.)

Easy work.

That will not be the case in opposition to Cavs huge males Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley (final season’s Defensive Player of the Year), who could possibly be uniquely certified to defend Towns’ actions and canopy area in the paint.

The Cavaliers, nevertheless, have not had to cope with any huge man as versatile as Towns. Against the Detroit Pistons final spherical, Cleveland was ready to shut down Cade Cunningham‘s pick-and-roll sport with middle Jalen Duren, who in flip wasn’t a lot of a facilitator. The first spherical offered Cleveland’s bigs even much less of a problem, as Toronto Raptors middle Jakob Poeltl totaled simply 10 assists in the seven-game collection.

Towns made some inside passes in the collection in opposition to the 76ers, even discovering fellow middle Mitchell Robinson on the few events the two shared the ground. If Towns will get round one Cavaliers huge, one other will doubtless be ready in the paint, chopping off clear passing lanes. But Towns additionally has the benefit of being larger, ought to he need to exploit his measurement and switch into extra of a scorer, even when it bucks the pattern of how he carried out in opposition to the Cavaliers this season.

In three regular-season matchups in opposition to Cleveland, Towns averaged simply 14.7 factors (his third fewest in opposition to any opponent) and a pair of.0 assists (tied for his third fewest). His 22% utilization price was effectively under his 26% total utilization.

Mobley and Allen principally cut up the Towns task, whereas Dean Wade — one among Cleveland’s main defenders on Brunson — additionally defended the Knicks middle after switches.

The time without work has allowed the Knicks to fine-tune this offense much more, however like different rounds, the Knicks shall be adaptable and will return to the offense they’ve used for many of the season, once they have been a top-five unit.

Either approach, Point KAT has confirmed he will be New York’s fail-safe choice in these playoffs.

ESPN’s Zach Kram contributed to this story.