Jalen Brunson may be the captain of this New York Knicks team, but, when it comes to finally thrusting themselves into their first championship round of the 21 century, Karl-Anthony Towns is the one who should be responsible for paving their clearest path.
In fact, ESPN's Vincent Goodwill recently said "I don't think there's any question about that."
During a Monday morning appearance on Get Up, the senior NBA writer predicted that if the big man has a "monster" run during New York's upcoming playoff excursion, "we're talking about the Knicks in the NBA Finals."
Throughout his second season with the Knicks, Towns has been rather up and down in both his play and the outside noise and support surrounding him.
Some nights, he's absolutely dominating in all areas of the game, as he was back at the start of April, where he dropped a 20-point triple-double in a win over the Pistons. Others, he's going just 1-for-6 from beyond the arc and leaving his teammates hanging as a result of his putrid efficiency, like during the club's early-February overtime loss to the hapless Pacers.
Needless to say, when Towns is locked in and fully engaged in his on-court efforts, this Knicks team is hard to beat, as they are 15-4 this season when the All-Star is posting 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds while shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field.
With this in mind, in Goodwill's eyes, "if he's averaging 25 and 12," New York will have an astonishingly realistic chance of stamping their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 this postseason.
Knicks must lean on Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson connection
During his appearance on the program, Goodwill would emphasize how one of the best ways this Knicks team can set itself up for a deep playoff run may, in fact, be by getting both Towns and Brunson working side by side in pick-and-roll and pistol actions.
The numbers only show that this is a recipe for success.
Since the beginning of February, this star tandem has scored more points per direct off of ball screens than any other duo in the association, and have established themselves as arguably the most efficient pick-and-rollers in the association along the way.
With Towns' recent resurgence in his scoring game, coupled with Brunson's surge in the distribution department, it appears New York's All-NBA pairing is clicking just in time for the club's fourth-straight playoff run.