Knicks ready for unique defensive issues Sixers pose to Jalen Brunson: 'He'll continue to find a way'
Published in Basketball
NEW YORK — Elite Bulls defender Coby White had a unique way of describing Jalen Brunson after the Knicks’ All-Star point guard hung 45 points in a near wire-to-wire victory in Chicago on April 9.White called Brunson a ‘motherf-----.’
Brunson is that good. He’s proven it against each of the NBA’s premier individual and team defenses:
— 39 points on 65% shooting in a win over the Boston Celtics
— 30 points and seven assists in a buzzer-beating loss to the West’s No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder
— 33 points against a stingy Orlando Magic defense
— 28.7 points on 48.7% shooting on the season
There is no answer for the star Knicks guard whose undeniable ascent places him in both MVP and First Team All-NBA conversations.
He has a counter for every move the defense attempts to take away — and a combination of IQ, footwork and sheer willpower gives him an advantage when he gets a step on a defender.
The step is inevitable — regardless of the length, Nick Nurse will deploy at the point of attack to combat the 6-foot-1 Knicks star.
Which is why the Knicks are planning on the Sixers sending more than just one defender in Brunson’s direction — the only assured path to get the ball out of an elite scorer’s hands.
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