New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson found himself trending on NBA social media on Tuesday night. His performance against the Brooklyn Nets was certainly good enough to warrant such attention as he helped lead the Knicks to a 108-103 victory.
Brunson scored 30 points, shooting 11-of-22 from the field with three rebounds, four assists and only two turnovers in 36 minutes. Whenever the Knicks needed a play to be made late in the game, Brunson was seemingly involved.
However, his performance and the team’s win was not why he was a trending topic. Instead, it was because of something TNT analyst Candace Parker said before the game. Parker made a bold statement about Brunson’s performance in the postseason during his first season in New York.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson, Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, New York Knicks Updates
Parker said that Brunson had a good performance in the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers but fell off in the second round against the Miami Heat. Not surprisingly, she was met with a lot of resistance to those comments as they are factually incorrect.
Brunson’s stats increased across the board in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Heat. He averaged 31 points, 6.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds in the series, which New York lost in six games.
Mistakes happen in all occupations and Parker is respected in the basketball world, and rightfully so. But, she doubled down on her Brunson take, keeping him off her All-Star Ballot and citing team success when selecting Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton.
On the season, the Knicks are 27-17. Mitchell’s Cleveland Cavaliers are a half-game ahead of New York in the standings with a record of 26-15. Three games behind the Knicks are the Pacers, who are 24-20 and riding a three-game losing streak. Granted, that is without Haliburton in the lineup as he nurses a hamstring injury, but their record is still worse than the Knicks.
Analysis like that is what works up so many Knicks fans on social media. They get a bad rap and are vocal about how their team is covered compared to other franchises in the NBA and they have a case here.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson, Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, New York Knicks Updates
Especially when taking a deeper dive into what Brunson accomplished during the 2023 postseason. His ‘fall off’ in the opinion of Parker was actually a historic performance in the Eastern Conference.
As shared by BrunsonMuse on X, Brunson is only the third player in Eastern Conference playoffs history to average 30+ points, 5+ assists, 5+ rebounds and shoot 50+ percent from the field. The others are Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade.
Any time you accomplish something where Jordan and Wade, two of the greatest shooting guards to ever step on an NBA court, are the only members of the group, you are doing something right. Brunson joined them with his performance in last year’s playoffs and carried that high level of play into the 2023-24 regular season.
Parker should certainly be forgiven for making a mistake; she has forgotten more things about basketball than most of us will ever learn in our lifetime. But, it is also time for the NBA media to pay attention to what Brunson and the Knicks are accomplishing, as they are missing something special.
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