Tag: Jalen Brunson

Regressed: Jalen Brunson sinks Rockets in finale of miserable road trip

In the finale of Houston’s miserable 1-5 road trip, Fred VanVleet and the Rockets couldn’t keep pace with Jalen Brunson (30 points, 7 assists) and the Knicks.

The Rockets ended a brutal road trip with Wednesday’s 109-94 loss (box score) to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Houston (19-21) went 1-5 on the trip and is multiple games below .500 for the first time since early November. New York improved to 24-17.

After missing two games with a calf injury, Jalen Brunson returned to New York’s lineup and led the way with 30 points and 7 assists, shooting 11-of-21 overall (52.4%) and 4-of-9 on 3-pointers (44.4%).

As it heads home, Houston finds itself outside of the top 10 in the Western Conference standings (and with that, a berth in the play-in tournament for the 2024 playoffs) for the first time in weeks.

After allowing nearly 135 points per game in their previous two losses, Houston’s defensive effort was much improved against the Knicks. However, it couldn’t withstand a regression on offense.

As a team, Houston shot 8-of-30 on 3-pointers (26.7%), and five of those makes were by Fred VanVleet (24 points, 12 assists). Outside of VanVleet, the Rockets shot 3-of-18 from distance (16.7%).

Backcourt mate Jalen Green had 15 points and 7 rebounds, but he finished with a team-high five turnovers and went 0-for-5 on 3-pointers. Alperen Sengun tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, but some of those statistics came after the game had long been decided. By and large, Sengun struggled to make his usual impact versus Knicks big man Isaiah Hartenstein.

Second-year forward Tari Eason remained sidelined by a lower left leg injury, which traces back to a preseason stress reaction.

Here’s our look at Wednesday’s highlights and postgame interviews from New York, along with reaction by media members and fans. With the road trip complete, the Rockets will finally return to Houston for a three-game homestand starting Saturday versus the Utah Jazz (22-20). The tip is 7 p.m. Central from Toyota Center.

The Rockets are 15-6 at home but only 4-14 on the road this season.

Billy Donovan credits Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle in Bulls loss to Knicks

After the Chicago Bulls’ 116-100 loss to the New York Knicks, Billy Donovan credited Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle.

Despite sitting at the bottom of the Play-In Tournament race, the Chicago Bulls have sneakily been one of the better teams in basketball over. the past few weeks. Led by Coby White and DeMar DeRozan, they’ve made a small push. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the job done on Wednesday night against the New York Knicks.

The Bulls ended up losing by a score of 116-100 to the new-look Knicks, who just added OG Anunoby in a trade with the Toronto Raptors. However, it was Julius Randle who ended up leading the charge for New York, outdueling DeRozan and White, who led the Bulls in scoring.

After the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan credited Randle and Jalen Brunson for leading the way for New York.

“We had opportunities to make some plays and we didn’t make enough, and Randle and Brunson really played well down the stretch,” Donovan said via ESPN. “We just couldn’t convert enough of our opportunities.”

Randle ended the night with a game-high 31 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists while shooting 13-of-23 from the floor and 3-of-7 from distance.

Meanwhile, Brunson put up 31 points, three rebounds, and 13 assists while shooting 13-of-22 from the field and 4-of-9 from distance.

DeRozan led the Bulls in scoring with 28 points, while White put up 26 of his own.

In addition, Andre Drummond and Isaiah Hartenstein battled it out on the glass, finishing the game with 16 and 21 rebounds, respectively.

Chicago will head into their Friday night contest against the Charlotte Hornets looking to bounce back with a win.

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Knicks fans have a new top-tier nickname for Jalen Brunson after recent criticisms about his game

Many fans, including Ben Stiller, are calling Jalen Brunson by a new nickname.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was recently the subject of debate when Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon spoke about his potential.

Hammon and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins went back and forth about whether or not Brunson was capable of playing like the best player on the best team in the league.

There is no doubt that Brunson is playing at an elite level right now and he has now scored 30 or more points in eight games so far this season. That now includes a very impressive 36-point performance on Christmas Day during a victory over the Bucks, led by two-time MVP and former NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Despite his accomplishes, though, there are concerns. As a former small guard herself, and as an experienced basketball coach, Hammon wondered if someone his size could lead his team to win a title in the NBA.

We don’t know if Hammon’s criticism of Brunson’s limitations is accurate and we won’t know until we see if he can keep this success for the Knicks in the postseason.

But some fans and teammates are latching on to one of the phrases used in the ESPN debate about whether or not Brunson could become a “1A” player. It seems that his teammates, including Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein, think he is already there.

RELATED: Becky Hammon shouldn’t have to shrink herself for the comfort of basketball fans

History says Becky Hammon’s take about Jalen Brunson’s size with a title-contending team is correct

Becky Hammon told no lies about Jalen Brunson’s limitations.

Jalen Brunson is one of the NBA’s more electric scorers. He’s a guy who can take a game over on a whim and lead the New York Knicks to a big win on any given night. But for as special as Brunson can be, there are probably limitations on how far he can actually take the Knicks in the playoffs if he’s their focal point.

On Thursday, during an NBA Today discussion on ESPN, Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon shared an incisive take about Brunson’s ceiling. As the panel debated whether the slightly above-average Knicks are stuck in Purgatory, Hammon took it a step further. She proclaimed that New York lacks the true No. 1 superstar necessary to win a championship. When Kendrick Perkins pushed back and highlighted Brunson, Hammon explained that the 6-foot-2 guard is simply too short to be the fulcrum of a team that can win four consecutive best-of-seven series in a postseason.

Honestly, based on years of NBA history, Hammon isn’t wrong. At all:

At any point in the NBA’s history, almost every single championship team is built around someone with considerable size and length.

There are a few outliers, of course — namely, Steph Curry (the best shooter of all time), Isiah Thomas (arguably the finest pure point guard ever), Dwyane Wade (an arguably top-three shooting guard all time, who was also 6-foot-4), and Chauncey Billups (more a cog in a team system than an outright superstar) — but they are all exceptions. All of them.

There is also usually a stark cut-off in height for a true No. 1. We can probably use the 6-foot-6 Michael Jordan (who won six championships with the Chicago Bulls) as the bar. If your top player isn’t at least that height, you’re probably not winning it all in June. Recent history especially says as much.

Here’s the list of best players and their respective heights on the last 10 NBA champions:

  • 2014 San Antonio Spurs, Kawhi Leonard (6-foot-7)
  • 2015 Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry (6-foot-3)
  • 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James (6-foot-8)
  • 2017 Warriors, Kevin Durant (6-foot-10)
  • 2018 Warriors, Kevin Durant (6-foot-10)
  • 2019 Toronto Raptors, Kawhi Leonard (6-foot-7)
  • 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James (6-foot-8)
  • 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo (6-foot-11)
  • 2022 Warriors, Steph Curry (6-foot-3)
  • 2023 Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic (6-foot-11)

Again, you might counter with Curry, but he is literally the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. At the time of this writing, Curry has made over 500 more threes than the next-best on the NBA’s all-time list.

Put another way: Curry is the outlier of outliers.

This isn’t to say that Brunson can’t win a title with the Knicks.

After all, 25-point scorers don’t just grow on trees. And history isn’t necessarily empirical. The modern NBA presents a different game and a different challenge. The league is more built than ever to allow smaller players to thrive. But when combining the current landscape of skyscraper stars with history, it’s abundantly clear that New York would be better off turning Brunson into a loyal sidekick for another alpha with more size. Jamal Murray in Denver is a perfect example of that reality in present terms.

Hammon knows what she’s talking about. Brunson is talented, but the Knicks still have a lot of work to do — maybe the hardest work in acquiring a No. 1 superstar — before they’re ready to compete for a championship.

Tyrese Haliburton found Jalen Brunson’s wallet and used it on a vending machine spending spree

Jalen Brunson didn’t realize he was buying snacks for Team USA.

After an exhibition game for Team USA in Las Vegas on Monday, guard Jalen Brunson forgot his wallet. His teammate, Tyrese Haliburton, found it.

Haliburton, however, rewarded himself and fellow Team USA star Brandon Ingram to a spending spree at the nearest vending machine before returning the wallet back to Brunson.

Due to Brunson’s blunder, Haliburton ended up with a free pack of Funyuns. Ingram, meanwhile, collected a nice bounty of Gatorade, Ruffles potato chips and a cinammon roll.

This looked like a hilarious bonding moment for Haliburton and Ingram outside of T-Mobile Arena following a victory over Puerto Rico.

More likely than not, it probably taught Brunson a lesson about being more careful to remember his personal belongings.

Otherwise, you never know who is going to end up with a free pack of chips on your dime!

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Austin Reaves set to join Team USA for 2023 FIBA World Cup

Oklahoma alum Austin Reaves set to play for Team USA in upcoming FIBA World Cup.

Fresh off the best season of his professional career, Austin Reaves continues his ascent. While his Los Angeles Lakers team bowed out in the conference finals to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets, Reaves, will join Team USA for the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines.

Reaves is one of 10 players already confirmed for the roster. He joins Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans, Jaren Jackson Jr (Memphis Grizzlies), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets.

Reaves figures to be an effective option off the bench for Team USA, and he’s a natural fit as with his ability to fill various roles. He can play on and off the ball as a scoring option and be the initiator like he was alongside LeBron James with the Lakers. He’ll be able to do the same thing for Team USA, with guys like Haliburton and Brunson playing as primary playmakers for the first unit.

The 25-year-old is coming off a career year, averaging 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists a night on 53 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent from three, and 86 percent from the charity stripe.

He also had a big postseason run, solidifying himself as the Lakers third best player, which included 21.2 points per game in the Lakers’ matchup against the Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.

In addition to his Teasm USA selection, Reaves will be the focal point of significant contract discussions as he enters unrestricted free agency. Reaves could command just under a $100 million contract somewhere in the range of a four-year deal worth a maximum of just under $98 million. The Lakers could match it, or they could pass. On top of that, Reaves and Chinese company Rigorer are finalizing a signature shoe deal that is expected to reach well over seven figures per year per Stadium’s Shams Charania.

For now, Reaves will focus on his role for Team USA and let[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1368] everything else to fall into place.

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Team USA roster: Here are the players heading to the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines

Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Mikal Bridges are the headliners.

The U.S. men’s national team is headed to the Philippines to participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the roster will have many new faces.

The United States had a stacked roster (including James Harden, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving) and won a gold medal during the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

But, while led by Donovan Mitchell as well as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the United States failed to medal during the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

Quite a lot has changed since then, however, with Steve Kerr replacing Gregg Popovich as the head coach. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Grant Hill instead of longtime director Jerry Colangelo, NBA players are reportedly no longer required to “try out” for Team USA.

The Americans who were tapped for the roster will play their first game against New Zealand on August 26. They will then face off against Greece, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, on Aug. 28.

Team USA (-180) is currently the favorite to win the tournament, per DraftKings. Serbia (+800), Greece (+900) and Slovenia (+1000) are also projected with the next-best odds.

Based on reporting so far, here are the 10 players who will be heading to the Philippines. Expect two more NBA players (potentially Desmond Bane and Alex Caruso) to commit to the roster before the official roster is announced.

Jalen Brunson made his mysterious 3-point celebration hand gesture a meme for Knicks fans

What does it mean? Don’t worry about it.

The Knicks defeated the Cavaliers during the first round of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and the vibes are immaculate.

Jalen Brunson, who averaged 24.0 points with 4.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game during the five-game series against Cleveland, is establishing a tone for winning basketball in New York.

It also seems he is having a lot of fun while doing it, and you saw some of that emotion after he connected on his 3-pointers during the series. After the shots from beyond the arc landed, we saw a new celebration from Brunson.

With his hand up to his face, he puts his nose in between his index finger and his thumb and it looks like he is potentially smelling his hand:

We’ve now seen him do this several times, so it’s fair to assume this means something to Brunson.

So after one of the games, ESPN’s Lisa Salters asked him to explain the celebration. He simply said, “Don’t worry about it.”

OK, then. We should probably take Brunson at his word and not worry!

Brunson later apologized to Salters because he felt his comments came off “a little arrogant” after the game.

But he also told New York Daily News reporter Kristian Winfield that the meaning is “between me and my teammates” and he refused to offer any clues.

The hosts of the No Dunks podcast offered some speculation about what it could possibly mean, but we may never actually get an answer.

Perhaps that is because it might not even mean anything at all. Brunson told Turner’s Taylor Rooks that he isn’t even sure how it started. But it is starting to become a meme after Brunson’s recent tweet.

He posted a photo of himself doing the gesture with the “see one, send one” challenge on Twitter.

His teammates and others around the NBA responded by copying the move, even if most of them presumably had no idea what it actually meant. Here are some examples:

A laser-focused Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson shared a hilariously awkward moment

Thibodeau was so locked-in!

In a lot of ways, Jalen Brunson has been worth every penny since the New York Knicks signed him in free agency last summer.

Brunson, who’s averaging over 23 points and six assists this season, could’ve and probably should’ve been an All-Star. On that note, at least he’s been having fun with former college teammates.

But even with Brunson’s individual success — while leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference’s current No. 5 seed — it looks like he still sometimes has to work hard to get head coach Tom Thibodeau’s attention. We saw a hilarious example of this Wednesday night during a 142-118 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

As Brunson (39 points) came out of the game, he tried to say something to Thibodeau. But Thibodeau was so focused on the action that he didn’t notice Brunson’s presence at first. What ensued was an amusing awkward reaction where the two shared a fist bump after Thibodeau finally looked Brunson’s way:

Amazing. Vintage Thibodeau through and through.

Whatever Brunson and Thibodeau have had cooking this year, it seems to be working lately. The Knicks have won 10 of their last 12 games, including seven straight. With how focused Thibodeau usually is on matchups, something tells me this might not be the last harmless exchange he has with Brunson this year.

Josh Hart had a perfect three-word response to entering the Knicks’ locker room for the first time

Josh Hart is HYPED to be a New York Knick.

Newly acquired New York Knicks forward/guard Josh Hart isn’t hiding his delightful enthusiasm for joining his new team.

After the Portland Trail Blazers traded Hart to the Big Apple, it reunited Hart with his old Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson and sent him to a potential playoff contender in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Hart seemed absolutely thrilled about the trade, posting what is a very succinct, hilarious snapshot of how he felt seeing his New York jersey.

While Hart might get his Twitter washed out with a bar of soap, the new Knicks player dropped an “f-bomb” to help celebrate his brand-new digs.

Josh Hart’s Tweet

Well, if that doesn’t sum up his positive vibes for joining the Knicks, we’re not sure what will.

Villanova fans will undoubtedly be excited to see Hart and Brunson back in action on a new team. New York fans will hope that Hart’s shooting ability will help propel the team to playoff basketball.

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