Tag: Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson had a 1-word answer to sum up his feelings on the Knicks losing Game 7

Oof, poor Jalen Brunson.

It’s probably really hard to feel this way after losing a Game 7 at home, but this season legitimately was successful for the New York Knicks. They had their best regular-season record in a decade-plus. Perhaps more importantly, they were on the verge of an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals despite a rash of injuries to several key players up and down the roster.

Jalen Brunson was one of those hurt players. He suffered a fractured hand during the Knicks’ 130-109 Game 7 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. When asked if he thought the Knicks’ season was a success, given all the adversity they overcame, Brunson kept it simple.

He was (understandably) NOT happy:

Brunson would clarify his thoughts, centering them around the Knicks’ failure to win a championship. Again, I get it:

Unless you win the last game of the year, it’ll always be hard to reflect on a sports season as a success. But I have a feeling Brunson will eventually feel differently about this year for the Knicks. And he should.

Jared McCain’s measurements compared to New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson

According to his measureables at the NBA Draft Combine, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony compared Duke star Jared McCain to a blooming playoff star.

Duke star Jared McCain already turned heads with his 3-point shooting at the NBA Draft Combine, but his measurements also show some promise for his potential NBA career.

According to ESPN writer Jonathan Givony and the ESPN database, McCain offers a profile similar to New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

With shoes on, McCain measured a hair above 6-foot-3, and he weighed in at 203 pounds. Brunson came in a full inch shorter at 6-foot-2.25 when he went through the draft cycle in 2018, but he weighed 198 pounds and their wingspans measured a half-inch apart.

Brunson emerged as a superstar during this year’s NBA playoffs. He’s scored at least 40 points in five of New York’s 11 games thus far, averaging 33.9 points per game. The Knicks currently lead the Indiana Pacers 3-2 in the second round, with New York one win away from an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

Givony thinks the comparison goes deeper than their height and weight.

“Has some similar intangibles in my view,” the NBA Draft analyst wrote.

McCain also enters the NBA Draft process nearly two full years younger than Brunson was in 2018, as the former Blue Devil is 20 years and three months old.

NBA Twitter reacts to Knicks taking Game 1 vs. Pacers: ‘Jalen Brunson is in another stratosphere’

Jalen Brunson became the first player to score 40-plus points in four consecutive playoff games since Michael Jordan as the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-117 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brunson scored 21 of his 43 …

Jalen Brunson became the first player to score 40-plus points in four consecutive playoff games since Michael Jordan as the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-117 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Brunson scored 21 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter, and Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo combined for 49 points. Myles Turner led the Pacers with 23 points but was called for an offensive foul with 12.1 seconds left.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Knicks victory.

Greg Gard compares a current Wisconsin Badger to Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson

Greg Gard gave high praise to one of his transfer additions:

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard spoke with reporters at his annual Garding Against Cancer charity event on Friday.

It was his first time with the media since landing Camren Hunter, John Tonje and Xavier Amos from the transfer portal. The roster looks different than on April 25 when the head coach had to address the departures of star guard Chucky Hepburn and wing A.J. Storr. The roster looks like it can compete in a tough Big Ten in 2024-25.

Related: Wisconsin basketball 2024-25 starting lineup and rotation with latest transfer addition

The roles of the incoming transfers remain a question. Amos will almost definitely start at power forward, while Tonje and Hunter will battle in a competitive backcourt rotation.

It sounds as though Gard is high on Hunter’s potential. The Badgers head coach compared his build to that of former Villanova and current Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson.

“I recruited Jalen Brunson several years ago. … (Hunter) reminds me, I hope he can become as good a player. We talk about ‘jackpot’; that would be jackpot,” Gard said. “But big, left-handed, big body, really strong. … We played against (Brunson) in the NCAA Tournament so we have a pretty good reference to his type of game. And Cam has similar attributes. I’m not saying he’s Jalen Brunson … but you look at him physically and he reminds you of that.”

Hunter joins the Badgers after missing the 2023-24 season at Central Arkansas with an injury. He was terrific as a sophomore in 2022-23, averaging 16.9 points, 5 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 42% shooting and 31% from 3.

The transfer guard figures to battle for a starting role with Tonje, top recruit Daniel Freitag and rising star John Blackwell. Either way, he figures to play a big role for Gard’s team in 2024-25.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Sixers vs. Knicks: Former Warriors Kelly Oubre Jr. scores 14 points in Game 5

The former Warrior wing notched 14 points in the Sixers’ thrilling win over the Knicks in Game 5 of their first round playoff series.

While Kevin Durant’s season came to an end after the Phoenix Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, another former member of the Golden State Warriors is still alive in a thrilling first-round series in the postseason.

Despite the New York Knicks holding a 3-1 lead the Philadelphia 76ers in front of a fiery crowd at Madison Square Garden, a heroic effort from Tyrese Maxey helped the Sixers extend the series.

The former Kentucky guard drilled a ridiculous 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime against the Knicks. In overtime, the Sixers pulled away to secure a much-needed 112-106 win to put the series at 3-2.

Via @NBA on Twitter:

Jalen Brunson continued his impressive postseason with 40 points on 15-of-32 shooting from the field with six assists and three boards in 51 minutes. Maxey countered with 46 points on 17-of-30 shooting from the field with nine assists and five rebounds in 52 minutes.

Former Warrior Kelly Oubre Jr. tacked on 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field with four rebounds in 39 minutes during the Sixers win on Tuesday evening in New York City.

The series will now shift back to Philadelphia for Game 5 on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Kelly Oubre Jr. gives his take on Jalen Brunson, Knicks offensive rebounds

Kelly Oubre Jr. gives his thoughts on Jalen Brunson and the rebounding struggles against the New York Knicks.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had their chances on Sunday. The game was hanging in the balance in Game 4 with a chance to even the series before it shifted back to Madison Square Garden.

Then the second half and the fourth quarter went the Knicks’ way. New York star Jalen Brunson went for 24 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points after halftime. The Knicks also grabbed seven offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points in the fourth quarter.

“34 shots,” said Kelly Oubre Jr. of Brunson. “He’s a great player — great, great player. I love playing against him. I love his game; he has a lot of fundamentals and skill set to his game, but anybody that shoots 34 shots who has skill, and is a great player, they’re going to be able to do well. Especially, when you get screens and you’re trying to find the right matchups and things like that. He’s a great player. He’s going to capitalize on those things.”

The Knicks ask a lot of Brunson. They ask him to play a lot of minutes, run their offense, shoot the ball a ton, and lead them on the offensive end. It’s a lot to ask, but he rises to the occasion.

“JB’s a great player,” Oubre added. “He’s been playing well and doing this all year long. So just because I say he shot 34 shots, it doesn’t mean he’s going to stop shooting them. That’s what they need him to do. At the end of the day, he’s just finding his groove. Thibs (Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau) is doing a good job of putting him in positions to get to his left hand and get into the paint.”

As far as the rebounding struggles are concerned, that has been an issue since Game 1 of this series. Heading into Game 5 with their season on the line, the Sixers have to resolve it.

OG Anunoby had 14 rebounds, Josh Hart had 17, Donte DiVincenzo got in there for a few big plays on the glass, and even Brunson has done a good job of rebounding the whole series.

“That’s what they do,” Oubre explained. “Like I said, Jalen is putting up all these shots, but at the end of the day, that’s what he’s supposed to do, and then everybody else is supposed to crash the glass like mad men. Josh, he’s a strong body. OG’s strong. Donte squeezes in a few. They just have guys that know that they have to get the misses, because that’s how they’ll eat. So at the end of the day, man, we’ve got to do a better job of hitting — also holding our hits, not holding them … and just blocking out better, and going and getting them.”

Game 5 is Tuesday back in New York City.

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Sixers expecting a more aggressive Jalen Brunson in Game 2 vs. Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers are expecting a more aggressive Jalen Brunson in Game 2 against the New York Knicks.

NEW YORK — As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for Game 2 with the New York Knicks on Monday night, they know the challenge that is presented to them. The Knicks will continue to be who they are which is an aggressive physical team and the Sixers also know what Jalen Brunson brings to the table.

The Sixers held Brunson to just 8-for-26 shooting in their Game 1 loss to the Knicks on Saturday. He still had 22 points with seven assists and seven rebounds, but overall, one has to like what Philadelphia did defensively against New York’s superstar leader.

“It’s not easy to stop that guy, but I think we did a good job,” said Nic Batum. “We expect him to be more aggressive tomorrow. I don’t think he’s going to be happy with an 8-for-26 so he’s gonna try and correct that so everybody guarding him will have to do a better job tomorrow. We’ll do it as a team as well and see what happens.”

Overall, if the Sixers can play the same type of defense in Game 2 that they brought in Game 1, then one has to like their chances. Philadelphia was terrific on that end of the floor. They held Brunson in check, but the Sixers couldn’t finish possessions with a rebound. That’s the only real flaw that Philadelphia needs to figure out.

On offense, the Sixers just need to figure out how to survive the minutes without Joel Embiid, but that comes with ball movement.

“I think the defense was pretty good, though,” Batum added. “I think the defense was pretty good so we just gotta keep playing the same defense. We gotta finish plays now. We gotta finish plays. They got a lot of offensive rebounds. They missed a lot of shots. Mostly because of our defense sometimes so we got to play the same defense and maybe better finish the plays. On offense, just keep sharing the ball. Joel and Tyrese (Maxey) had a great game and guys around them gotta be better.”

The Sixers will make their adjustments. The Knicks will make adjustments of their own. That’s what happens in these playoff series.

“It’s something about the playoffs that’s different,” Batum added. “Sometimes you have to do something different and maybe we will tomorrow (Game 2).”

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Sixers give ultimate respect to Jalen Brunson, Knicks ahead of Round 1

The Philadelphia 76ers give the ultimate respect to star Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks ahead of their Round 1 series.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers will have their hands full as they get set to take on the New York Knicks in Round 1 of the playoffs. New York won 50 games and earned the No. 2 seed thanks to strong defense and a budding superstar.

Jalen Brunson is somebody who can score in a variety of ways. Whether it be a 3-point barrage and going to work that way or it’s with him fearlessly driving into the lane and finishing over taller defenders, Brunson is a tough cover and Philadelphia will have to prepare for him.

“He’s a great player,” coach Nick Nurse said of Brunson on Friday at practice. “We’re gonna try and make him work. We’ve got a lot of guys that will probably end up spending time on him and guarding him. Obviously, we’ve done a few different things with him through the course of the year. A lot of different schemes and stuff that we got ready to go. So that’s where it starts, right? We gotta be ready.”

On the season, Brunson averaged 28.7 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 40.1% from deep. He is also capable of scoring big numbers. He had 61 points on March 29 against the San Antonio Spurs. In the final five games of the season, he averaged 30.5 points and 7.6 assists and shot 47.5% from deep to help New York earn the No. 2 seed.

“The guy’s had an unbelievable season, but he’s had some really unbelievable games and he does it in a lot of ways,” Nurse added. “He’s gonna just score, right? And hit the 3-ball, he’s gonna draw fouls, he’s gonna be out there the whole game. All that stuff so he’s, again, he’s a superstar in this league, and we gotta get our guys ready to guard him.”

The Sixers have a lot of defenders they can throw at Brunson. From guys like Kyle Lowry to Tobias Harris to Kelly Oubre Jr., the Sixers will certainly have their options against him. Even Tyrese Maxey has continued to make strides as a defensive option.

The biggest thing is just containing him. There isn’t a real pace that Brunson prefers. He plays at his own pace and plays everything out in his mind.

“I think that he’s unique in that he’ll play in any pace that he feels is necessary,” Nurse added. “There’s a lot of times when he’s got the ball and he’s throwing it ahead and pushing pace which they, obviously, did to us a couple times. We’ve been talking about that for weeks. That’s high on a lot of team’s board against us.”

Opposing teams will do everything they can to avoid Joel Embiid in the half-court. So there is a chance that Brunson will want to push the ball and get out in transition, and the Sixers will be ready for that, but Philadelphia just wants to contain Brunson in any setting.

“Like, let’s get it up the floor and try to attack the rim before Joel’s back so we gotta certainly be great in our transition defense, but there’s long segments of the game, too when he’s gonna walk it up and get the pieces exactly in place and they’re gonna give him space and he’s gonna go to work so it goes in almost two extremes and everywhere in between with him,” Nurse finished. “Listen, I’m not–controlling pace is not like–I just wanna make sure we’re back if it’s fast and I wanna make sure we’re making him work if it’s slow.”

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Who has a better case to make First Team All-NBA, Boston’s Jayson Tatum or New York’s Jalen Brunson?

This is not the Jayson vs. Jalen discourse we’re used to.

Who has a better case to make First Team All-NBA for the league’s 2023-24 regular season — the Boston Celtics‘ Jayson Tatum or New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson? In the national media, analysts seem split on which of these two superstar players ought to get the nod.

But there are plenty of good points raised by folks who have watched Boston closely this season, from JT’s defense to the odd tendency to punish him for having excellent teammates in a context that shouldn’t matter much. The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, are one such cadre of experts on the Celtics, and they recently shared their thoughts on who should make First Team on a recent episode of their show.

Check it out for yourself in the clip below!

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Jalen Brunson shares thoughts on Bulls after tough Knicks loss

Jalen Brunson praised the Chicago Bulls after the New York Knicks’ loss.

Both the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks are fighting for playoff positioning. In the case of the Bulls, that just means battling with the Atlanta Hawks for the ninth seed and home-court advantage in the 9-10 Play-In game. But for the Knicks, it means scrapping with four other teams for seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

On Friday night, the two teams squared off, and the Bulls got the better of the Knicks. Chicago earned a wire-to-wire victory over New York thanks, in part, to a monster performance from Javonte Green, who just recently rejoined the Bulls. It was a tough loss for an injury-plagued Knicks team.

After the game, Jalen Brunson praised the Bulls for how they played in the win. (H/t ESPN)

“They played with more energy and more pace than we did,” Brunson said. “That’s two games in a row where we were down big early. We just can’t allow that to happen.”

Brunson ended the night with 35 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists.

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