Knicks' Jalen Brunson may not be shooting well, but he's still been effective in first two games vs. 76ers
Knicks’ Jalen Brunson driving past Buddy Hield of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter of Game 2 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Monday, April 22, 2024. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
PHILADELPHIA — It’s easy to focus on the more outrageous and humorous quotes that Josh Hart utters on a regular basis, but sometimes it’s the simple ones that make the most sense and are worth noting.
As the Knicks prepared for Game 3 of the best-of-seven opening-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, Hart was asked about the shooting struggles that have unexpectedly struck Jalen Brunson through the first two games.
“I don’t think anything he has to do different,” Hart said. “He’s shooting shots that he normally makes. You shoot yourself into a slump and you shoot yourself out of a slump. So, for him, he has to just continue to shoot, continue to be aggressive. That’s what we need.”
It doesn’t happen often, but Brunson agreed with Hart.
“The easy answer is I need to adjust and I need to be more poised,” Brunson said. “Just understand what they’re doing and just flat-out be better. There’s no gimmicks to it. It’s just, 'Jalen, you need to be better.’ And it’s that plain and simple.”
It might be that simple. Even with Brunson connecting on only 16 of 55 shots over the first two games — including 2 of 12 from beyond the arc — the Knicks managed to win both games. And that is in some part due to the high-level performances of Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Miles McBride and Isaiah Hartenstein. But it is also significant that even when Brunson isn’t connecting on his shots, he is easing the load on all of the other Knicks players.
While the Sixers have focused on stopping Brunson, who averaged 28.7 points on 47.9% shooting and 40.1% from three-point range this season, the double teaming, blitzing and shifting defenses have provided openings for other players, easing their task. Hart responded with 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1 to fuel a comeback win, then scored 19 in the first half, connecting on four three-pointers, in Game 2 to keep the Knicks in the game until the last-minute heroics.
Hart doesn’t get those open looks without the gravity that Brunson draws from the defense, and that goes for nearly every one of the Knicks.
“I think he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They overload, just make the play. Getting a lot of offensive rebounds because of that. Their zone principles are overloaded to the strong side. I thought he made a lot of good plays to Isaiah. And we’re scoring at a high clip, and that’s good.”
“Absolutely,” DiVincenzo said. “Me, Josh and OG [Anunoby] need just to be aggressive — Bojan [Bogdanovic], when he checks in. We need everybody to be aggressive because they play so aggressively on defense. You have to be aggressive. You can’t just rely on one or two people to score.”
While the Sixers griped about the officiating and made claims that they are the better team, the Knicks have focused on themselves, cleaning up their own mistakes and starting faster after digging holes in each of the first two games. What the Knicks aren’t paying attention to is what the Sixers are saying.
“We’re not focused on whatever they do or who’s playing or not playing,” Hart said. “We keep the focus on playing our game and if you start focusing on what the other team is doing or what they can and can’t do, then you kind of lose yourself.
“Jalen hasn’t shot the ball great. OG’s been here and there and Donte, myself even - I feel like there’s another level we can get to. I think that’s encouraging that we’re able to get two wins, but we’ve got to find a way to turn that around and find a way to start games better.”
Asked about Joel Embiid’s claim that the Sixers are the better team and could be up two games to none, Hart said, “I don’t care. They’re not. We’re up 2-0. When the NBA starts basing the series on what we think, then I’ll care a little bit more. But right now, we’re up 2-0, and we have to focus on trying to get out there and get a win.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
