He is the only two NBA player in the Eastern Conference to be named Player of the Week twice this season.
One is 76ers center Joel Embiid, the current league MVP, and the other is Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. He averaged 27.3 points and earned his second honor while further strengthening his case for his first All-Star selection of his career. The Knicks beat the Trail Blazers 112-84 on Tuesday, giving them 9.3 assists during their fourth straight win and their fifth straight.
“When there's an individual award, I think usually it's a byproduct of the team's success. That's probably the most important thing,” said Tom Thibodeau, who previously won the award for the week ending Nov. 20. He talked about Branson. “So his teammates share that. But he's been playing at a very high level all year. The best thing about him is that all he cares about is winning. That's why I think that permeates the team.”
Brunson, who finished with 12 points and seven assists, was overlooked a year ago as Julius Randle represented the Knicks during All-Star weekend, but the $104 million point guard scored (26.0 points per game). ) and set career highs in assists (6.4 through the team's first 35 games) and 3-point percentage (43.6 percent).
The Knicks entered Tuesday's game in a 21-15 five-way battle for fourth through eighth place in the East playoffs, but Thibodeau said accumulating more wins would help Brunson's case. I believe it should be.
“He looks like this to me. [deserving]Yeah, but I think that's a byproduct of winning,” Thibodeau added. “Normally it's a fan vote first and I know it's changed a little bit, but it ends up with the coaches voting on the rest of the team.
“I always say there's a lot of great players in the league, and a lot of them are deserving. I know when I vote, and of course I don't vote for my own players, but it's the last It's important, and it's a difficult job, because you don't want to leave anyone who deserves it behind. But there are some players who are really close, and it's usually the number of wins that a player wins that determines the close vote. Hopefully we continue to build and win and our players get recognized. But in my eyes, he's certainly someone who deserves it.”
Brunson, who finished sixth among backcourt players in All-Star fan voting on Tuesday, also received pregame support from former Knick and current Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. He is a five-time All-Star guard and one-time NBA champion. piston.
“I'm a big fan of Jalen. I think he's a winner first and foremost,” Billups said. “You can talk about how crafty he is, how he can score, and how he's just a winner. He makes big plays. He makes winning plays. He's top of the league. He has great offensive power and is a true winner.”
“For someone like me who just believes in that, he's a great guy. I think he has the ability to inspire a team and captivate a team with his play. and knows how to take the ball away. I think at the end of the day, they just believe in him. I'm happy to see him succeed.”
Against the rebuilding Blazers, Brunson and the Knicks also had a chance to improve on their 14-1 record this season against a team that was underdog in Monday's league game.
The only loss against such a team was on Dec. 18 against the Jazz.
“When you play a game like that and the year is over, you start thinking about seeding and all that kind of stuff. You don't want to look at the schedule and say this is a game that got away,” Randle said. He averaged 24.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and was once again an All-Star candidate. “I want to make sure I’m running my business.”
