Jalen Brunson is exactly what the Knicks have been missing
He’s exactly what the Knicks’ roster has been lacking for years.
With Jalen Brunson playing stellar basketball for the Knicks so far this season, the point guard has a chance to get his first All-Star game nod in his career. In the three fan returns, Brunson failed to get enough votes to rank inside the Eastern Conference’s top 10 guards. Voting concluded on Jan. 21 and players have a chance to selected as a reserve by coaches — giving an opportunity to send a Knick point guard to the All-Star Game for the first time since the 1988-1989 season.
Current ESPN commentator Mark Jackson is the last Knick point guard to play in the All-Star Game and there’s been a huge void left after him that the front office couldn’t fix. In the years since Jackson’s tenure, the Knicks have repeatedly failed to land a talented point guard that could get buckets, lead a team down the stretch in tight games and electrify the crowd at the world’s most famous arena.
There have been flashes of promise and short-lived mercenaries, but in a town that runs on point guards, and loves Knicks point guards most of all, all have been fleeting moments in time. Charlie Ward and Chris Childs gave way to the Stephon Marbury experiment, which led to wandering in the desert with Chris Duhon and Jamal Crawford. Jeremy Lin streaked briefly through the New York skyline, and Raymond Felton punched the clock for a time, but for more than two decades, the position has largely been manned by prospects who never pan our or by old-timers whose glory days are far in the past.
Most recently, the Knicks were forced to shut down Kemba Walker last season and later traded him to the Detroit Pistons in a three-team deal last summer. The homecoming for the four-time All-Star was a failure as his arthritic knee made it difficult to carry the load of a starting point guard role. He had some flashes last season — scoring 44 points against the Wizards at MSG — but was pulled from the rotation after just one month into the season.
Brunson doesn’t have the issues like the previous Knick point guards in recent history. He’s shown durability — playing 79 games last season with the Mavericks and missing just three games this season.
“A lot of pride [in playing every game],” Brunson said. “I don’t want to give anyone the notion that I’m healthy but I just want to take today off. Me as a leader, if I’m able to walk and I’m able to play I’ve got to bring it.”
The guard isn’t a huge disruptor defensively, but breaks down opponents with his crafty offensive game and nifty floater.
Brunson is posting career-high numbers — averaging 22.5 points and 6.3 assists per game entering the weekend. His play — and its effect on the team as a whole — garnered attention during the Knicks’ eight-game winning streak earlier this season.
It took a 52-point performance from Toronto’s Pascal Siakam to end that streak. Brunson’s lackluster performance against the Raptors that night — only scoring seven points on 3-of-14 shooting — has not been a recurring theme for the Knicks this season.
Since the calendar flipped to January, Brunson is averaging 30.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds in a 10-game span — including a 44-point performance in a loss against the Bucks on Jan. 9.
The Knicks are currently the seventh seed — 4.0 games behind the Nets in the fourth seed — and Brunson’s clutch play is a huge factor.
The four-year, $104 million contract agreement appears to have been well worth the tampering penalty.
For many young fans, Brunson is the best point guard to have suited up for the Knicks in their living memory. He isn’t a sure-fire first-team All-NBA talent or a perennial All-Star game starter. But he for sure is this: an impactful, All-Star-level point guard that the team has been missing.
Brunson’s addition is a step in the right direction for the franchise. A first All-Star appearance may be on the horizon for the fifth-year guard. If Brunson is selected to represent the Knicks at the game in Salt Lake City, he will most likely be selected as a reserve — needing to be chosen by NBA coaches.
All-Star Game starters are revealed on Jan. 26 and reserves are announced on Feb. 2.
