For much of the early season, the New York Knicks struggled to put points on the board. Aside from Karl-Anthony Towns, nearly everyone else on the team shot below their norms. That led to an uneven start for the defending champs.
The reigning Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson, missed a good number of shots he normally makes in his sleep. It raised concerns among some fans that the 30-year-old was still affected by his offseason wrist surgery.
Now, nine games into the season, Brunson—and the team as a whole—is starting to click. The three-time All-Star had moments where he looked like his normal self, but he couldn’t string together consecutive strong outings. For the first time all year, Brunson has put together consecutive excellent games. NBA, time to be on notice.
Jalen Brunson is starting to look like Jalen Brunson again
Saturday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t look like a game that Brunson would get going. In the first quarter, he shot 1-for-6 from the field and missed both 3-point attempts.
An excellent second quarter put those fears to bed as Brunson shot 11-for-19 over the final 36 minutes. He not only finished with 31 points, but also had season highs in both rebounds (6) and assists (9). His game against the Cavs was arguably his best all-around performance of the first nine.
That follows his previous outing on Wednesday, when he led a blowout win over the Chicago Bulls. Brunson shot 10-for-17 from the field and made half of his 10 3-point attempts in a 33-point evening.
Before his last two performances, Brunson was shooting just 39.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Even his foul-shooting accuracy wasn’t up to par (73.2%). His best game of the first seven also came against the Bulls when he scored a season-high 33 points. Brunson followed that up with an 8-for-22 outing.
This could be a harbinger of what's to come for Brunson. In a few weeks, these last two games could be the exact turning point of the Captain's season.
Overreactions to start the season have proven to be false
A section of fans will always overreact to every game. So when the Knicks lost their first three games after a championship season, they wondered what was going on.
New York has ended any “the sky is falling” takes with five wins in their last six games, moving over .500. A championship hangover was perhaps expected, but now the Knicks are moving past it.
Their superstar point guard is finding his groove. The team is too. That early-season hiccup is behind them. It’s a great sign that Brunson has put together two wonderful games in a row. If the wrist was an issue—he’ll never admit it was, if it was—that seems to be going away.
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