On Sunday, Jalen Brunson made his long-awaited return to the New York Knicks lineup. Precisely a month after taking place with an ankle damage, Brunson got here again in a 112-98 win in opposition to the Phoenix Suns, posting 15 factors and 6 assists in 34 minutes.
Seeing him again on the court docket is a big reduction for the Knicks, who know the way precious he will likely be to their hopes of constructing a deep postseason run.
Since coming to New York in 2022, Brunson has flourished as top-of-the-line scorers within the NBA. His distinctive mix of footwork within the submit as an undersized guard and spectacular deal with on the perimeter have made him troublesome to protect. He has additionally grown as a frontrunner, turning into the figurehead for the Knicks that has led them out of mediocrity.
This was particularly obvious in final 12 months’s playoffs, as Brunson went supernova. He ended up averaging 32.4 PPG and seven.5 APG for a New York group ravaged by accidents. It was almost sufficient to get to the Japanese Convention Finals, however Brunson additionally succumbed to damage in Sport 7 of the semifinals in opposition to the Indiana Pacers, fracturing his left hand.
Regardless of the irritating ending, the Knicks determined Brunson’s efficiency confirmed them sufficient to go all-in round him this offseason. They spent monumental quantities of property to get Karl-Anthony Cities and Mikal Bridges within the offseason, and got here into this season with excessive expectations.
Brunson has continued to be a star, checking in at No. 7 within the NBA in scoring at 26.1 PPG and No. 8 in assists at 7.4 APG. If he performs out the rest of the season, he’ll meet the NBA’s 65-game requirement for All-NBA group eligibility, for which he’s definitely worthy of recognition.
Although his damage slowed his momentum, he has come again in time to ramp up his workload for the postseason.
The Knicks will definitely want him to be nice as soon as it hits. Regardless of a powerful common season file of 50-28 getting into Tuesday, they’re a mixed 0-9 in opposition to the 2 groups forward of them within the Japanese Convention, Boston and Cleveland.
With one sport every remaining in opposition to them, Brunson and the Knicks will be capable to gauge how shut they’ve gotten to them, and the way a lot Herculean effort they’ll require from Brunson to tug off a possible upset.
