The Whiteboard: Jalen Brunson's evolution as a floor general strengthens the Knicks

Jalen Brunson solidified his status as one of the NBA's best bucket-getters last season. He's mastered the art of scoring and is incredibly gifted at creating shots for himself. However, the New York Knicks franchise point guard has learned how to use this to get teammates involved early — and often.

Seventeen games into the 2024-25 campaign, Brunson is averaging a career-best 7.9 assists per game, crushing his previous high mark (6.7). Moreover, he set a new single-game personal record in New York's 145-118 beatdown of the Denver Nuggets, logging 17 dimes.

Brunson's outing against the Nuggets on Monday exemplified his rapidly developing ability as a facilitator. He's an extremely savvy and crafty player, further expanding his repertoire by evolving into a willing and elite-level distributor. The 28-year-old is transitioning from a lead guard to a floor general in real-time, and it's paying dividends for the Knicks.

Jalen Brunson's evolution as a floor general makes the Knicks even better

Notably, Brunson's growth as a passer perfectly coincides with the arrival of All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Thus far, the duo has put themselves in rarified air, pacing for Shaq and Kobe numbers early into their partnership.

The Brunson-Towns connection has thrived in two-man game situations, specifically high pick-and-rolls. Their compatible skill sets make it easy to work off one another, and it showed versus the Nuggets.

Since Brunson puts tremendous stress on opponents as a ball-handler, Towns feasts as a short roller coming off the screens he sets. While defenders are so worried about the former, he has no problem making a sweet pocket pass to the latter.

Suddenly, Towns gets the ball at or near the nail/elbow with space while facing the basket. From that point, you're at his mercy. He'll either put his head down and attack or step into an easy pull-up jumper. Then, the seven-footer has the vision to make you pay for making a concerted effort to slow him down, which opens everything up for Brunson.

Eventually, Denver sold out to prevent the Brunson-Towns pick-and-roll, which allowed other members of the Knicks to get involved in the action. The gravity they commanded created wide-open looks and cutting lanes for Deuce McBride, OG Anunoby and the rest of the squad.

Averaging a healthy 1.07 points per possession as the ball-handler in pick-and-rolls, Brunson is seeing a slight uptick in this department compared to last season. Interestingly enough, he shot the ball at a better clip in these instances in 2023-24. Nonetheless, the increase in efficiency highlights how important Towns has been in this equation.

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NBA news roundup:

• Speaking of Brunson, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone wasn't happy with his team's effort (or lack thereof) against the Knicks on Monday. During his postgame press conference, the sideline chief clearly stated his thoughts and didn't mince words. He called out Denver's star players, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, demanding they be more "vocal."

• Kristaps Porzingis made his highly anticipated season debut in the Boston Celtics' 126-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. His return reminded us why this squad moonwalked to an NBA champion last year. It was a wire-to-wire rout at the TD Garden, which has become a recurring theme for any opponent who steps foot into the arena.

• San Antonio Spurs wing Devin Vassell won't be available on Tuesday but is expected to suit up on Wednesday. The sharpshooter has been tending to left knee soreness. Unfortunately, the issue will sideline him for a fifth consecutive contest. But, barring any unforeseen circumstances, a comeback is on the horizon.

Elfrid Payton is... back?

Most people probably didn't have an Elfrid Payton resurgence on their bingo cards entering this year. But after sitting out the past two seasons, the ninth-year pro has returned to the Association with a vengeance.

Payton latched onto the skeleton New Orleans Pelicans last week and has wasted no time staking his claim, logging a whopping 21 assists on Monday! Not only was this a career-high tally for him, but it was the highest single-game dime output by any player this season.

Somehow, Payton's performance leaves us flabbergasted and impressed. His ability to withstand stepping into an unknown environment and getting thrust into a massive role instantly is commendable. Especially knowing the Pelicans lineup is a shell of its usual self (which is why he's getting this opportunity in the first place).

With one-time All-Stars Dejounte Murray and Brandon Ingram slated to be back on the court soon, Payton's run time is ostensibly waning. New Orleans' lack of a true point guard might keep him in the rotation, albeit not anywhere close to this capacity.

In three spot starts, Payton has averaged 9.7 points, 11 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game while posting .560/.000/.500 shooting splits.