Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns, Mavericks' Anthony Davis under most pressure this season

Davis wants to prove that he is still one of the best players in the NBA, capable of carrying the Mavericks to wins as Cooper Flagg is developing and until Kyrie Irving returns from ACL surgery. Davis also wants to show that he's a ble to lift this franchise through the post-Luka Doncic era.

That may be a tall task, as some aren't convinced that the Mavericks have enough shot creation, perimeter shooting, or point-of-attack defense to be competitive until Irving returns. If Davis can even help them be a .500 team by the time Irving returns, that will be huge.

Is There That Much Pressure On Karl-Anthony Towns?

Perkins including Towns with Davis was an interesting note. KAT isn't the first option on the Knicks, as that goes to Jalen Brunson, and they have a very talented team with Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson as key pieces. Pressure usually falls on the first options, not the second.

However, Towns has had some poor playoff performances, most notably against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, that he would like to improve upon. In the loss to the Pacers, he averaged over 20 PPG in a playoff series for just the second time in his career, and he was hitting his threes.

Because of how bad the Eastern Conference is, the Knicks should be no worse than the second seed if they stay healthy. The Cleveland Cavaliers will be tough to overcome for the top seed, and maybe inserting Mike Brown as the head coach could cause some issues early, but there's no reason that they can't be the second seed above Orlando, Atlanta, and Detroit.