Jalen Brunson looked inward and took responsibility because that’s who he is.
It’s what he’s done since becoming the Knicks’ unquestioned leader, and it’s what he will continue to do regardless of who is actually in charge. But the sentiments he expressed after the Knicks’ 116-102 loss to the Celtics at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night would have been better coming from his teammates.
After the game, Brunson said, “It doesn’t matter what I did.” “We didn’t have enough of that tonight.”
It’s noble of Brunson to say “we” didn’t bring it on a night when, personally, he certainly brought it.
Despite being guarded by five-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection Jrue Holiday and one-time All-Defensive Team selection Derrick White, Brunson went 12-of-25 from the field and had 3 points. He scored 34 points on 4 of 9 shots. Added 9 assists.
“Dude, he was grilling Jrue and Derrick,” Josh Hart joked. “no, [Brunson’s] He’s not a fast guy. Obviously, I played with Jrue for a year in New Orleans. For me, he’s the best defender I’ve seen. He has quickness, good instincts, good hands and strength.we were just trying to get him off [Brunson] We will do our best to [Brunson] I love being able to create my own shots. His footwork is great, allowing him to take shots in a variety of ways. ”
Brunson’s brilliance was marred by a tough offensive night for most of his teammates.
And that’s starting to become a theme as the injury-riddled Knicks have lost five of their past six games, turning a once-strong season into an alarming slump.
Without Julius Randle (shoulder) and OG Anunoby (elbow), the Knicks appeared to have only one path to victory — and Brunson was getting them there. However, despite Brunson’s continued dominance, he has not been able to win on his own.
The Knicks asked Brunson to direct nearly all of their offense during this period, and defenses have since realized he is the team’s only major threat on that side of the ball, aggressively double-teaming him. and began to trap him.
Through six games during that span, Brunson has a whopping 34.7 percent usage rate, second among eligible players in the NBA behind only Jaren Jackson Jr. of the lowly Grizzlies.
It soared to 39.6% during Saturday night’s decline.
That’s a significant increase from his 29.3 percent usage rate on the season, and about the same as Randle’s 28.7 percent usage rate on the season if they’re both healthy.
There was little to make up for Randle’s lack of workload, and much of it fell on Brunson’s shoulders. And it has been exposed repeatedly.
It becomes even more noticeable late in the game when the opposing defense can put their best defenders on the court and focus more on Brunson. If Brunson can’t make the shot, the Knicks have little plan B.
“Jalen is going to work,” Thibodeau said Saturday. “[The Celtics are] His length at the rim makes him very good defensively, but Jaylen knows how to get into spots. I thought we moved really well in the first half. He played a lot off the catch and was able to set.But then we reached that limit [late in the game] They were tough on us. ”
Brunson’s current workload is not sustainable and he will likely be exhausted by the playoffs.
It didn’t even lead to victory.
Simply put, with Randle and Anunoby’s returns not imminent, the Knicks will have to find a way to get Brunson more help offensively.
Much of the blame falls on Donte DiVincenzo and rookies Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, who together shot a dismal 9-of-30 from the field Saturday night.
With that kind of production around Brunson, the Knicks have little chance, no matter how good Brunson was.
But still, Brunson will always find a way to take responsibility.
“We’ve got to be better,” Brunson said. “It’s plain and simple: From a vocal leader’s perspective, it’s about not turning the ball over and being a better decision maker.”
