The New York Knicks are off to a 3-1 start to the 2022-23 season after three straight wins over the Pistons, Magic, and Hornets. The Knicks have a brutal stretch of games ahead of them, but with the way that Jalen Brunson has been playing, New York looks like a different team.
In Wednesday night’s 134-131 overtime win over Charlotte, Brunson took the game over and finished with 27 points (10-for-15), a career-high 13 assists, and seven rebounds in 41 minutes. The Knicks of last season likely would’ve found a way to lose against the Hornets, but New York having a point guard has made all of the difference thus far this season. He’s clutch.
BRUNSON IGNITING IN OT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GHzWVGhzbF
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 27, 2022
When the Knicks signed Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract in free agency, there were plenty of jokes made on social media about how the 26-year-old guard wasn’t worth that much. The narrative was that New York overpaid yet another player, but here we are four games into the regular season, and that belief has already started to change.
On Thursday, the Sports Illustrated staff released a piece titled ‘NBA’s Early Surprises and Disappointments.’ In response to which offseason addition has been the most impressive, two writers selected Brunson.
Sports Illustrated highlights Knicks’ Jalen Brunson as one of the most impressive offseason additions
Along with Brunson, Donovan Mitchell (how ironic) and rookie Paolo Banchero were listed. All three of those players are great answers, but it’s notable that Brunson was included. The point guard was praised for his efforts that help led Dallas to the Western Conference Finals in the 2022 playoffs, but as soon as he signed with New York, he was instantly labeled as overrated.
It’s still early, but so far, Brunson’s shown that he’s anything but overrated. He’s part of the reason that Julius Randle looks like a completely different player than he was last season. No offense to Alec Burks, but the Knicks having a true point guard that can create offense has made a world of difference. It’s funny how that works, right?
Sports Illustrated’s Howard Beck wrote that Brunson has “exceeded all expectations” and Robin Lundberg wrote that “Brunson has put to bed any criticism about the contract he received in the offseason.” As both Beck and Lundberg noted, Brunson’s going to really be put to the test by New York’s upcoming schedule.
But as Brian Windhorst said, Brunson’s a difference maker and because of him, the Knicks will be able to steal a win here and there from the better teams in the league. And as New York prepares to take on Milwaukee, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Boston over the next week, we could see Brunson and the Knicks continue to surprise people.
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