"A ball-dominant Jalen Brunson ain't gonna get you to the promised land" - Draymond Green on the Knicks' success in the 2024 playoffs
The New York Knicks have shown great resilience and a grit-and-grind mentality throughout the 2023-24 season. Despite battling constant injury woes and the heartbreaking loss of Julius Randle for the entirety of the campaign, they fought tooth and nail to acquire the second seed in the East.
They carried the tenacity into the 2024 playoffs, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 to reach the second round for a second consecutive year (a feat that took place for the first time since 2000). Despite the air of optimism surrounding Tom Thibodeau's team, Draymond Green cast doubts over their ability to reach the 'promised land,' by simply relying on Jalen Brunson, whose impact on games hinges on having the ball in his hands.
"A lot of Knicks fans are making it trying to make it out to be, 'Draymond don't like us.' I don't hate the Knicks. However, I am honest and I'm not delusional. A ball-dominant Jalen Brunson ain't gonna get you to the promised land, I said. I didn't say you were going to win the first-round series," Green said on his podcast. "If I'm honest, you guys are easily going to win the second-round series. I said you can't get to the promised land. Quite frankly, if I'm honest, I still don't think you can."
Dray has a ton of respect for JB
Listening to Green's perspective, many could've argued that he was potentially trying to downplay Brunson's series-best average of 35.5 points against the Sixers. That is why the four-time NBA Champ made sure to applaud JB's ability to take over in clutch situations, admitting how his respect for the 6'2" point guard has only increased.
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Green particularly highlighted Brunson's ability to bounce back after tough games. This was evident when, despite the Knicks leading the series 2-1 and Jalen averaging 28.3 points in the first three games, he recognized the need to elevate his performance to shift the momentum in his team's favor. Consequently, the 1-time All-Star averaged 42.6 points in the last three games to close out the series in six.
"Jalen Brunson… already had respect from me. He's earned more and more respect. Guy's getting it done every single night. Had a couple of bad games (but) bounced back. That's what I wanna see," Green added. "When you're an up-and-coming guy, and you're taking that next step in your career, and you get into these playoffs, I wanna see how you bounce back from a bad game."
While Draymond's assessment may seem exaggerated, he does raise a valid point: the Knicks players cannot solely rely on Brunson to carry the scoring load in the second-round series against the young Indiana Pacers team.
Despite Jalen's impressive scoring average against the 76ers, no other player came close to matching his output, leaving the Knicks vulnerable. This imbalance in scoring allowed Nick Nurse's team, even without a fully fit Joel Embiid, to remain competitive until the final minutes in multiple games.
Brunson is the key for the Knicks against the Pacers
Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers, who won the regular season series 2-1 against New York, boasted the league's second-best offensive rating. Furthermore, in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, they continued that form with six players averaging double-digit points. So, it is clear that Brunson will require assistance from his teammates to ensure that the Knicks experience no scoring droughts, no matter how brief.
As Jalen has averaged 35.7 points in the three games against the Pacers in the regular season, he will be the Knicks' focal point on offense even in the second-round series, and NY will go as far as JB can take them.
