The New York Knicks have won seven straight games in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, awaiting the results of the Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers series to see who they’ll face in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is a big turnaround from just a few weeks ago, when people were picking the Atlanta Hawks to upset the Knicks in the first round when the Hawks led the series 2-1.
Even though both New York losses were by a margin of one point, the Knicks looked visibly disjointed offensively, especially during clutch time. The team was over-reliant on Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby for offensive creation, but everything changed after Game 5, where Karl-Anthony Towns emerged as the team’s primary offensive fulcrum, creating for all players on the roster as a mid-post playmaker.
Towns spoke to reporters after practice during the Knicks’ time off before the Conference Finals, with Stefan Bondy reporting that Towns suggested changes to the team’s offense after their Game 3 loss, which coach Mike Brown accepted. Since then, the Knicks have been undefeated.
“KAT implies he brought the idea of changing offense to Mike Brown before Game 4 against the Hawks. That’s when the Knicks started running offense through KAT in midpost: ‘Go in there, say how you’re feeling, with your feelings, your idea, and see if it’s received. And it was received.'”
Towns averaged 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, looking disengaged through the first three games before dropping two triple-doubles in their three straight wins to seal the series. Towns averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in their second-round series win over the Philadelphia 76ers, thriving as the best playmaker on the team while letting Brunson and Anunoby handle scoring the ball.
Brunson has always been highly regarded as a scorer, and Towns is showing off his passing chops and staying consistently engaged on the court instead of being played out of the offense as a corner shooter.
The fact that coach Brown openly accepted Towns’ suggestion to improve New York’s offense is a fantastic development for the franchise after rumors of the coach and player being at loggerheads for most of the season. Brown has previously elected to bench Towns in fourth quarters because he couldn’t figure out a use for a player as dynamic offensively as him.
With Towns’ defensive production increasing in the postseason, it might explain why Brown is more comfortable letting Towns shine as the featured piece of the team’s offense.
A strong relationship between them might have been the missing piece for the franchise, which underachieved in the regular season as the No. 3 seed in the East behind the Pistons and Boston Celtics. They seem to have figured out the right formula at the perfect time, needing just eight more wins to bring another championship to the franchise.
The Knicks will be favored to overcome the winner of the Pistons and Cavaliers series, given their elite production, but they’ll have a mountain to overcome if they match up with the OKC Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
