Jalen Brunson's breakout playoff performance a year ago didn't surprise the Knicks
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson looks to pass during the first half of a game against the Washington Wizards on April 2, 2023, in New York. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
CLEVELAND — It is almost a year to the day since Jalen Brunson seemed to appear out of nowhere, inserted into the starting lineup in the playoffs against the Utah Jazz and Donovan Mitchell. With Luka Doncic sidelined, Brunson scored 41 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to an unlikely playoff victory.
The Knicks knew, though. A contingent of Knicks officials and Julius Randle already had been in the front row a game earlier, but long before that, they knew what Brunson could be.
As an assistant coach when Jalen’s father, Rick, played for the Knicks, Tom Thibodeau had seen Brunson grow up. Then, with Rick on his coaching staffs in Chicago and Minnesota, he’d seen the younger Brunson flourish in high school and head off to Villanova. Knicks president Leon Rose jokes that with Rick his first client in his days as an agent, he held Jalen before Rick did.
So maybe the 41-point outburst didn’t surprise them. And maybe Brunson's 24.0 points and 6.2 assists per game this season, his first with the Knicks, has not surprised them either. And so it’s no surprise that as the Knicks ready for a playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers beginning Saturday night, it is with Brunson as the on- and off-court leader of the team.
“If you paid attention, whenever they had people out in Dallas, he’s always played well when he filled in, started,” Thibodeau said. “And just having been around him what he did in high school, state tournaments and at Villanova. Big games. He’s always played his best in big games. We all knew that. That’s just who he is.”
“I think it’s something that happens,” Brunson said of his success in big games. “For me, I try to go out there and try to do whatever I can. I know I sound like a broken record, but truly I just go out there and don’t worry about if I need to have a big game or anything like that. Just what I can do to help this team win.”
While he may downplay his role, the Knicks need him to be that special player in the spotlight right now. Julius Randle has not played since suffering a sprained left ankle on March 29 and Thibodeau has said that he has not been cleared for contact yet, so his status is uncertain heading into Saturday's Game 1. And while Thibodeau said that if Randle can go, he will go, there is a mystery of just how close to 100% he will be if he does play.
That's one more reason why the Knicks need Brunson to be at the top of his game. They have two starters in Quentin Grimes and Mitchell Robinson who have never played in a postseason game. Brunson’s college teammate, Josh Hart, has emerged as a key rotation piece, and he too has never been in the playoffs.
Even as Brunson starred last season in helping the Mavericks advance, he insisted it was a team victory. And in leading the Knicks back to the playoffs this season, it is the same now.
“I think, most importantly, it wasn’t just me,” he said. “How this team embraced me with open arms. How they’ve let me be myself, play the way I play. The relationships we’ve made this year, it’s been great. It wasn’t just me — it was a credit to everyone — building, sacrificing and just wanting to win. We were able to get to a decent place in seeding. We have a long way to go for us to get to where we want to go.”
KNICKS VS. CAVALIERS SCHEDULE
Game 1: Saturday, at Cleveland, ESPN, MSG, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Tuesday, at Cleveland, TNT, MSG, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: April 21, at Knicks, ABC, 8:30 p.m.
Game 4: April 23, at Knicks, ABC, 1 p.m.
* Game 5: April 26, at Cleveland, TBD
* Game 6: April 28, at Knicks, TBD
* Game 7: April 30, at Cleveland, TBD
* if necessary
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.
