Knicks star Jalen Brunson ready to lead the way against Heat with poise and composure
Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) calls a play against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Cleveland. Credit: AP/Phil Long
On the court, Jalen Brunson rarely displays emotion. It’s hard to tell the difference between his team leading by 20 or trailing by 20. He’s mostly expressionless, and even his three-point field goal “celebration” covers half of his face in a gesture that he tries to keep a mystery.
The gesture is believed to be a symbolic image of a gladiator, which is fitting for a player who has emerged as a star — even if Josh Hart, his teammate with the Knicks and Villanova and longtime friend, jokingly said, “He’s undersized, overrated, overpaid.” Hart smiled and added, “Yeah, he’s a star player.”
With an eye-opening postseason performance last season, Brunson earned his $104 million contract with the Knicks. But his play this season, through the first round of the playoffs, has shown that contract is a bargain. And now, just as Jimmy Butler is seen as the key to the Miami Heat’s chances, it is Brunson who must carry the Knicks as the teams face off in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Brunson doesn’t do the things on the court that make the highlight reels. Even he says his dunks are possibly “power layups.” His best opportunity to go viral has come in his postgame news conferences of late; he has teamed with Hart to form a comedy duo (predictably, Brunson plays the straight man).
Hart has come to the podium with a T-shirt adorned with a photo of Brunson on a magazine cover and a large box of candy. He had popcorn on another occasion, eating it as Brunson answered. On Wednesday, he arrived with a dish of chicken wings that he ate until Brunson implored him, “Don’t do this.” Hart responded, “I’m just eating. He’s asking you a question; what are you mad at me for?”
On the court, however, Brunson is all business. He has yet to make an All-Star team, which seemed like a snub this season. He was beaten out for Most Improved Player, finishing third in the voting. And he certainly is a candidate for All-NBA, but a long shot this season.
“He is very composed,” Hart said. “He is never rushed, never rattled. Very poised. He’s able to get his own shot and also get other guys involved. He’s able to just control the game, and that’s what you want out of the point guard.
"You guys see in late-game situations, Jalen will take over the game, knock down big free throws. He does all those kind of things. So that’s what you want in a point guard. That’s what you want in a leader. That’s what you want from one of the stars on the team and he does it on a nightly basis.”
“He’s calm,” RJ Barrett said after Wednesday’s clinching win over the Cavaliers. “He’s steady the whole game no matter what. They make a run, whatever happens, he’s steady. Big bucket or assist, something. Any time he has the ball, we have confidence.”
Brunson spent his childhood in locker rooms while his father, Rick, played professionally, including with the Knicks when they battled the Heat in past postseason wars.
“My dad was on what, eight, nine teams in nine years?” Brunson said. “So obviously I know about it. But I think growing up, I was just mesmerized by what my dad was doing . . . [When I was young], he didn’t really talk about the rivalries. I was more fascinated by what he was doing as his job, where he was going, the people he was around and all that stuff. As a kid, it’s a little different conversation than the one we have now.”
The conversation now, with Rick serving as an assistant coach, is instantaneous feedback on what is happening on the floor. It has helped the son not only rise to levels that the father never reached but ones that many imagined Jalen would never reach, either. Brunson and the Knicks have exceeded expectations, and it seems as if putting a ceiling on what either can do right now is a risky game.
“I think we are playing better, we are getting better,” Brunson said. “Whenever you have a chance to come into practice, learn from our mistakes and move on, it’s a chance for us to get better. We hear it every day from [Tom Thibodeau]: If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. So we got to make sure we’re on the same page every single day, making sure we’re all moving in the right direction and not getting complacent, not being satisfied. That’s just our mindset right now.”
Notes & quotes: Julius Randle (sprained left ankle) and Quentin Grimes (right shoulder contusion) are listed as questionable. Grimes is expected to play, but Thibodeau remained vague on Randle. “Didn’t do [much], just mainly rehab stuff. He’s day-to-day. He’s not limping, but he hasn’t done anything on the court other than the shooting . . . The thing is, we’re not going to put him in harm’s way. Obviously, he has a lot of say in it. The medical people have a say in it as well. So if he gets back, the baseline that everyone is comfortable with, then he plays. If not, I trust our medical people, I trust Julius, and we have more than enough. So we’re hopeful that he plays, but if he doesn’t, just get out there and get it done.”
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.
