The Knicks head to Cleveland on Saturday for Game 3 against the Cavaliers on a ridiculous nine-game playoff win streak.
They haven’t been in the loss column in exactly a month, a surge that has coincided with a shift in Mike Brown’s offense.
Over the past month, Karl-Anthony Towns has suddenly become the Knicks’ top distributor in a change few saw coming.
Towns is averaging 6.9 assists per game since Game 4 against the Hawks in Round 1, which would easily be the best nine-game stretch of his regular-season NBA career.
In Game 2, the Cavs curbed Towns’ passing prowess, holding him to just one assist.
Oddsmakers apparently took notice, with most major sportsbooks dropping his assist over/under to just 4.5, but I’m not ready to give up on Towns as a passer.
Towns went over this number in each of his eight previous games, including six or more dishes in seven of those contests, and one quiet outing shouldn’t be enough to erase what has become a clear feature of New York’s offense.
Even though it didn’t show up in the box score, Towns still spent plenty of time at the top of the key, with screens and cutters moving around him.
In what should be a tight game with the Cavs’ backs against the wall, don’t be surprised if the Knicks lean back into that look.
At plus-odds, Towns is worth backing to return to the role that helped power the Knicks’ month-long surge.
The play: Karl-Anthony Towns over 4.5 assists (+125, DraftKings Sportsbook)
Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He’s particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.
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