Brunson’s playoff style is drawing Harden comparisons — and not in a good way

Jalen Brunson is one of the top five guards in the NBA. His footwork may be second to none, he possesses one of the game's best floaters, averages 26 points and 7.3 assists per game, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a player who provides more value to their team, outside of perhaps Nikola Jokic. He also has a growing reputation as one of the league's biggest foul-baiters.

Nate Duncan, speaking on Kevin O'Connor's The Kevin O'Connor Show, compared Brunson's foul-baiting to James Harden, saying, "I love small guys with a great skill level...But he has now become my worst watch in the league. I think he's gone beyond peak Harden at this point."

Duncan isn't alone in his analysis. Prior to Game 2, Ausar Thompson said, "He’s [Brunson] good at drawing fouls. Well, he’s good at selling – selling – fouls. So you just got to be smarter."

Why would someone not bait for fouls?

Removing as much bias as possible, it is hard not to see what Duncan is saying, at least to an extent. In many possessions in Game 2, Brunson could be seen talking to the refs about a previous no-call while bringing the ball up the floor, or aggressively jarring his neck at the first sign of contact.

That said, can we really put "blame" on Brunson for it? His job is, quite literally, to do everything in his power to help his team win. There is not a single star player in the league who doesn't complain to the refs about calls or flop from time to time, not one. It's a part of the game. If the NBA truly wants to remove it from the game, start enforcing the flopping penalties they created!

Furthermore, the Pistons are an aggressive team, and Brunson is going to continue to sell calls if it can take a defensive player of Thompson's caliber off the court and onto the bench.

Similar to Harden in more ways than one?

Through these early games of the playoffs, Brunson has resembled Harden in another way as well. Both he and Harden are among the five players occupying the greatest percentage of their team's touches thus far. Brunson has taken 27 percent of the Knicks' total touches through two games, while Harden has taken 24 percent of the Clippers' touches in as many games.

The massive offensive responsibility Brunson is shouldering may be coming at the expense of some of his teammates. In Game 2, Brunson had a usage rate of 39.2 percent. It was the fourth-highest usage he had in any game this season. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a usage rate of 14.1 percent, the lowest of his entire Knicks tenure.

Brunson is talented enough to win the Knicks games while carrying the entire offense. Brunson is probably talented enough to win the Knicks a playoff series while carrying the entire offense. But if the Knicks are to win a championship, Brunson will need to find a better balance with teammates.