Jalen Brunson Has To Be Better for New York Knicks In NBA Finals

Jalen Brunson is already on the Mt. Rushmore of New York Knicks players, but if he wants to climb any higher, he'll need to get a ring. That's not going to happen against the San Antonio Spurs unless he starts playing better.

Doom and gloom shouldn't be the default with New York holding a 2-1 Finals lead. Until Game 3, though, the Knicks' advantage helped cover up for Brunson's own struggles.

With the exception of a mesmerizing fourth quarter in Game 1, the Captain has been worse than mid. His 27.3 points per game are coming on 39 percent shooting inside the arc and a 31.8 percent clip from downtown. 

Throw in Brunson churning out as many turnovers as assists (13), and it's no wonder the Knicks have lost the minutes he's played by a total of 13 points. That they were up 2-0 and in position to win Game 3 with him playing like this is, quite frankly, inconceivable.

Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Landry Shamet, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges deserve a ton of credit for helping the team rise above their superstar running mate's rough patch. But as New York found out during Monday night's 115-111 loss, there's a limit to its brilliance when Brunson isn't tapping into his own. 

This is Brunson's Most Complicated Stretch with the Knicks

Through three games against the Spurs, Brunson has yet to average more than 0.86 points per shot and free-throw attempt. He has never failed to eclipse 0.9 points per shot attempt in three consecutive outings while wearing a Knicks uniform before.

The last time this happened was nearly four years ago. Brunson closed the 2022 playoffs with a pair of inefficient scoring outings and then notched 0.83 points per shot and free-throw attempt during his debut in orange and blue to open the 2022-23 season.

Even when he's not scoring efficiently, Brunson typically delivers value through the attention he draws, and with his ball protection. Those staples aren't shining through as brightly in this series.

With Brunson on the floor, New York is averaging 108 points per 100 possessions while turning the ball over on 14.6 percent of its possessions. When he's on the bench, the team is pumping out an offensive rating of 132.2 and turnover rate of 8.5. Its effective field-goal percentage is over four points higher without him, too.

Statistically speaking, this might be grounds to say we're watching Brunson's worst stretch as a member of the Knicks. However, we can't overlook that he delivered clutch moments in both Games 1 and 2.

San Antonio's defense is also ridiculous. This is the most physical ball pressure Brunson has ever seen on a night-to-night basis. As deep as New York might be, it doesn't have the ball-handling alternatives to materially winnow down its superstar's workload.

Explaining why Brunson's issues aren't totally self-inflicted provides little comfort, though. The Knicks' opponent isn't changing. Victor Wembanyama isn't going anywhere. Heck, with the Spurs finally moving him off Towns on defense, he might be even more of an irritant in the games to come. 

Brunson Will Make or Break the Knicks

The Knicks almost assuredly aren't winning their first title since 1973 if Brunson continues disappointing relative to expectations. That should not fall under the hot-take umbrella. It is an acknowledgement of how central he is to this team's existence. 

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Touches for Towns can wax and wane. Bridges' offensive usage is up and down. Anunoby can only eke out so much self-creation. Hart's three-point shooting will forever slog through peaks and valleys. 

Brunson is New York's lone constant. Even when the Knicks play through Towns, you know JB is going to get the ball back and have plenty of opportunities to flex his muscles as a scorer and playmaker. He needs to start capitalizing on more of them.

He needs to control what we can control.

No, he can't force the Spurs to cut the number of bodies they're throwing at him. But he can ensure he doesn't burn valuable time off the clock by holding the ball for too long. 

Too much of the Knicks' Game 3 offense boiled down to a single half-court action that concluded with him dribbling for eternity and into oblivion. A series-high 26.1 percent of the offense's field-goal attempts came inside four seconds of the shot clock. 

Brunson can't erase the physicality with which San Antonio plays, but he can be more aware of it. Out of the five turnovers he had in Game 3, you can make the case that four of them, if not all of them, were unforced. 

Brunson can't magic easier shot opportunities into existence, but he can get others involved. Towns has scored zero points on six total shot attempts through three fourth quarters. His offensive dissociation isn't entirely on Brunson, but the point guard has more agency over his touches than anyone else, with the exception of maybe the coaching staff.

Relative to Brunson's track record, as well as his smattering of heroics in this series, you can look at what's happened so far and believe that a breakthrough performance is just around the corner. 

You could also look at the depths of his struggles, the uncharted territory he's in and sound the alarm. 

Regardless of which path you choose, you arrive at the same conclusion: Brunson hasn't yet been good enough. And until or unless that changes, the Knicks as a whole won't be, either.