Mike Brown is bringing over 20 years of coaching experience to the Knicks. There is no doubt he will take lessons from all of his stops when designing his offense in New York. One lesson in particular that he should implement, according to Zach Lowe, is spamming the pick-and-roll with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, similar to the way he did with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant when he was the Warriors' interim head coach back in 2017.
Lowe, speaking on The Zach Lowe Show podcast about the Warriors 2017 run, said, "The one thing that stood out that Mike Brown did...there was a series he coached where he was just like 'you know what we're going to do, how about we just run the Curry-Durant pick-and-roll every single time down the floor.'
During that 2017 playoff run, the Warriors generated 1.32 points per direct when Durant set a pick for Curry. It was the most efficient duo in the league that postseason out of any duo that set at least 55 picks for one another.
The mystery of the Brunson and Towns pick-and-roll game
On paper, Brunson and Towns seem like an offensive match made in heaven. Brunson is one of the best ball handlers in the league, has elite footwork, an incredible floater, and the ability to pull up and launch from three. Meanwhile, Towns is one of the best shooting bigs who has ever played the game. His ability to stretch the floor is a nightmare for defenses to handle, and he is tough to defend when he puts his head down and drives to the hoop.
Last season, the duo lived up to the hype, at least in the begining of the season. They started out as a dynamic pick-and-roll combination, especially with Towns' ability to pop out and shoot threes. However, as the season went on, their two-man game tapered off.
There were fewer and fewer picks set for Brunson by Towns as the season went on, and the action didn't resurface in the playoffs either.
Brown must unlock this element of their offense
For the Knicks to reach their full potential, Brown must find a way to reinvigorate the two-man game of his best two offensive players. It may be as simple as spamming it every single time they go down the floor, as Lowe suggested. Likely, however, it will involve Brown figuring out how to get a center on Towns, where he seems the most comfortable.