The scene has been repeated on many other occasions during his long days out of season. With no games to play, the only action happening in the NBA is in the offices. Calls, meetings, text messages, the smartphones They are raging and no wonder, because their future is in the hands of executives, agents and players. In them, any follower receives a notification about Twitter of knowledgeable during service hours by message: Jaylen Brunson in the New York Knicks. The immediate reaction to this is nothing short of surprising, firstly because of the amounts being traded ($104 million over four seasons), secondly because of changing the promising Mavericks from its ever-dubious tenants Madison Square Garden.
The moment Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted the news, the networks went on alert with Brunson and the Knicks’ decision. This was a player who came from breaking through in the Playoffs, being the perfect complement Luka Doncic with 21.6 points and a 46.6% success rate, but the doubts were legitimate. At the age of 25 and with four seasons under his belt, he had lived in the shadow of one of the league’s biggest stars and ball consumers, without ever being in the position of leader and bearing that responsibility.
It was a lot of money for one bet so insecure and the market he was about to go into was perhaps the most difficult media-wise in the entire NBA geography. But the hits they had done an exhaustive analysis of their problems and the diagnosis was nothing other than the need to find a base, not just any, someone capable of providing security and persistence, without big peaks. Branson was his man. In the two previous campaigns only one other point guard in the league he had the lowest turnover percentage in the same usage range (Terry Rozier, 8.3%), establishing the Villanova product as the second-most safe at just 10.2%. All this with the best true shooting percentage (true shot %) among those who fit the parameters, jump to 59.7%.
Jalen Brunson may not have the A-list star shine you’d expect from a metropolis like New York, but that’s winning games, not showing off. More so when he is in charge of the team Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks needed someone like that, and Brunson felt he had to fly away from the nest of the Mavs, who had the option to offer him a similar amount but didn’t when they had the chance.
In the short time that the 25-year-old point guard has been with the Knicks he has become its de facto leader and thermometer. The intensity he brings to the game, the dedication and determination he has shown justifies the move without a doubt. The team’s results may not be so good, but it is clear that from the Big Apple they definitely want to do things well and They’re looking to build something beyond a playoff push. That’s where Branson gains weight.
The New Jersey native is part of a select group of players defined by their correctness. Unlike others, such as his partner Julius Randle, Branson is extremely consistent and works like clockwork. Its highs and lows hardly differ, and if they do it’s usually because some physical problem is slowing it down. It is what must have been shaped in the university under his tutelage Jay Wright and that his father Stackhe was a pro for almost 10 seasons.
If the widespread doubts during Free Agency about whether he could carry his level Playoffs at an older stage they were common, the young man has silenced them with a stroke of the pen.
There are a lot of words at this point, let the numbers do the talking:
- Playoffs 2022: 21.6 points on 50.4% shooting from two, 34.7% from three, 3.7 assists, 1.1 turnovers and 0.8 steals in 34.9 minutes
- Regular Phase 2022-2023: 21.8 points on 55.0% shooting from 2D, 32.2% on 3-pointers, 6.7 assists, 1.7 turnovers and 1.1 steals in 33.2 minutes
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Landing on your feet in Madison isn’t easy. There are many who have started receiving boos at the first change and found themselves starring in (negative) headlines within weeks. Branson no, quite the opposite. As if he were a prodigal son (though adopted), The Knicks have found the perfect silhouette to enhance what they have.
“I like the way you can control and manage a matcheither. To me, that’s the number one point guard role. When you play like that, the game is easy for everyone.”Tom Thibodeau said of his new student. “But it requires a lot of energy and sacrifice. It’s not just about playing fast and you don’t want to take reckless shots, but you have to move away from the ball and with pace.”
“She’s an encouraging presence. She’s formidable.” continuous. “Since he signed, he’s been in the gym every day. He’s not a guy who minces words. He just does what he’s supposed to do and when he gets on the field, he’s ready to execute.”
In the various advanced metrics designed to verify the impact of one player or another on his team as a whole, Brunson managed to sneak into this start with some of the league’s biggest stars. It is 14th in value over replacement (VORP) with +1.0, beating others such as Jaylen Brown or Paul George? ranks 17th in wins over (WAR) at +2.3, ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo or Trae Young without going further.
In fact, if this trend continues, Jalen Brunson would be the one first player in Knicks history average over 20 points, 6 assists and less than 2 turnovers per night. Almost nothing in the case of a franchise like this.
In an NBA that tends to revolve more and more around heliocentrism the style old school de Brunson shines through its rarity. Not a pass out, not a poorly chosen shot, not an attack without a previous process of analyzing the situation. His style of play reconciles the fan with the tradition, the orthodox, since he follows the logical steps and identifies the action as different. The Knicks’ love of the mid-range (40% accuracy) goes against the current stretch norm, making the player somewhat of a cult.
He may not be the flashiest or most appealing figure to fans, but he’s the player the New York Knicks needed, and he showed it without making much noise.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
