The New York Knicks are finding their playoff run quickly coming to an end because of something unexpected.
Even though Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns had strong games, the Knicks now trail the Indiana Pacers 3–1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Even though Brunson and Towns have been important in many wins, the pair’s presence on the court has allowed the Pacers to highlight a major defensively flaw.
Shorts, Stats and Documentaries can’t lie.
During the 91 minutes that Brunson and Towns have played together in the conference finals, the Knicks have allowed 130.2 points per 100 possessions on defense, far worse than the league’s worst defense. Over that same period, the Pacers are making:
Over half of their shots were made.
Over a third of Pip’s points came from beyond the arc.
And they have 51 times when they made a pass correctly compared to just 10 mistakes
The result? Brunson-Towns minutes have seen Indiana lead New York by 24 points.
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🧱 Target Practice for Defense
Indiana’s offense has made it a point to use Brunson and Towns in pick-and-rolls, aiming to create mismatches, most effectively by getting Brunson put on Tyrese Haliburton. The lights have not stayed strong:
His main opponents succeed on 57.1% of their shots when Brunson is guarding them.
Their shooters from downtown are hitting at a rate of 47.5 percent.
The Knicks are torn about what to do: keep their top two offensive stars playing and find it hard to defend or put them in different lineups and watch their scoring power decrease.
Brunson said after Game 4, “It wasn’t good enough.” I have to take some action to see a change.
Towns added: “There is more to it than just him.” It’s everyone here.”
🔁 The Lineup Didn’t Deliver the Outcome We Needed
After Game 3, Coach Thibodeau switched Mitchell Robinson into the starting spot so he could strengthen the Knicks’ defense in the lane. The team’s defense improved slightly, but its offense was poor and scored seven fewer points in 24 minutes.
⚖️ The Problem with Net Rating
What presents an actual puzzle for New York is
The Knicks had a -4.6 net rating when Brunson and Towns played together.
Net rating goes up to +5.7 when Brunson plays without Towns.
Losing Brunson made it even better — the team raised their net rating to +10.8 and kept their defense below 100
Towns’s best quarter of the playoffs which helped the Knicks win Game 3, occurred when Brunson was on the sidelines due to his fouls.
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Will Events Accompany Each Other?
For the near term, it may be necessary for the Knicks to give Brunson and Towns different times on the court. So the franchise has to consider the next question: Are the two stars too different, making things tough for them?
Right now, the team is only trying to stay safe.
“We’ve figured out how to do things people thought would be impossible,” Towns said. “At this point, we have to rise to the biggest challenge we’re facing.”