In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks forced Captain Jalen Brunson to fly solo. Regardless of whatever impact the officials had on the game, the Knicks only lost by four points – a gap they could have easily closed by playing more as a team.
Over the course of Monday night, the Knicks' offense devolved into one Brunson isolation after the next. Mike Brown made clear afterwards that the pivot was unplanned, and the result of a lack of attention to detail.
New York dealt with San Antonio's first in-series adjustment well. Now, they're beating themselves with a lack of love for the little things.
The Knicks will need to rediscover their obsession with perfection one last time if they want to finish the job against these Spurs. That should fall just as much on Brunson's supporting cast as it does on the star guard himself. But as their Captain, it ultimately does also fall on Jalen to set his guys straight.
Knicks leave Brunson out to dry with lackluster Game 3 effort
For several seasons, the Knicks' offensive production depended on point guard Jalen Brunson. The superstar-in-the-making shouldered most of the responsibility of creating healthy Knicks possessions.
He won at least one playoff series in three straight seasons, while putting himself next to Michael Jordan on playoff-record lists, in the process.
Mike Brown was brought in to elevate the Knicks' level of play. Their results were good; their process could be better. It wasn't an indictment on Brunson to notice that teams around the NBA were finding success with several star creators in charge of their offense, even if one consistently shined brightest.
The cooperatively revamped style of play fueled their dominant run through the first three rounds of this year's postseason. On Monday night, though, it came to a screeching halt.
The Knicks abandoned the off-ball screens, fervent relocation, and dribble-drive diatribes that defined their 13-game playoff win streak. And Brunson was back to shouldering a disproportionate amount of offensive duty.
The point guard shouldn't refuse to accept the basketball when his teammates pass it to him. But, as their Captain, he does need to find a way to emphasize that he can't always hold up his end of the bargain when they aren't covering theirs.
Brunson did it for several seasons, leading the Knicks to yearly improvement. But New York got to the NBA Finals because of their ability to answer every kind of defensive question they were presented with. They'll need to get back to diversifying the responses they give the Spurs to win this series.
Add us as a preferred source on Google