Jalen Brunson can barely dunk. Think about that. How many guys in the history of the league have scored 210 points over a five game playoff span that could barely dunk a basketball? Jordan is the last guy to score that many points (210) in a 5-game playoff run in 1993 and I’m pretty sure he sprinkled a number of mind-blowing, tongue-wagging, 10-second-rewing worthy dunks into that mix.
That’s what makes Jalen so unbelievable. He’s spectacularly unspectacular. They list him at 6’2″ and 190 lbs. but he’s more likely 6’0″ — 210 lbs. Who hasn’t seen a guy that size dominating the LA Fitness noon run by over-dribbling, backing down, pump-faking, pivoting, changing speeds, pump-faking again, pivoting a few more times until finally, finally, after you’ve grown more than a little tired of playing defense and given up on the possession, gets exactly where he wants to get on the floor and banks in a fifteen footer?
Do kids run out to the playground after a Knicks game and emulate Brunson dribbling endlessly around the perimeter, getting defenders on their collective backs, hemming, hawing, leaning into other guys so he can draw fouls and get to the line? You can’t practice Brunson moves on the playground. The other kids would whoop your ass and steal your bike.
To make matters worse, in one of the few ads I’ve seen featuring Brunson, he’s digitally endorsing some kinda sugarless cereal that has to be the worst tasting cereal I’ve ever tried in my life. Like his game, his ads are understated, almost embarrassed to be selling you something. The fact that they somehow appear on my Facebook feed, in addition to the fact that I still look at a Facebook feed, tells you everything you need to know about my age and Brunson’s strategic marketing team. Still, like everything Brunson does, it’s real. Genuine. You get the feeling Brunson really eats that horrible, cardboard tasting cereal to improve his performance or his love-making or whatever it is he’d like to improve.
So what do we make of Brunson’s rise? Are the Knicks really contenders? There’s no way they can beat the Celtics in a 7-game series, right? Not with Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown waiting in the wings. And no way he could score this much against Minnesota with Ant’s big ass or McDaniel’s length guarding him, or against OKC with Dort sticking to him like glue. But for right now, as long as his foot is OK after last night’s Willis Reed impersonation, Brunson is the best scorer in the playoffs. It boggles the mind to say that because if you put Brunson in a Big 3 game this weekend, with the right defender on him, there’s a chance he could all of a sudden look like pretty average. But in a team setting — and in particular this team setting with two Villanova teammates who have years of experience understanding exactly when and where he wants the ball and the exact angles and driving lanes he will attack — he is masterful at getting to his spots and knocking down his looks.
So, how can we profit from it? Sadly, the time may have passed.
After game two of the Philly-Knicks series, I looked at the leading scorer odds for the series:
Embiid -140, Maxey +250, Brunson +475
You know his this ended. Embiid hobbled his way through the rest of the series, Maxey flamed out in Game 6 and Brunson started his streak of 40-point games and never looked back.
If you looked at the odds to be the leading scorer for this series, Brunson was -10000. That’s because the Pacers spread the wealth and Brunson, in this current Knicks arrangement, will always get up nearly twice as many shots as any other Knick. Our only hope is to wait for the Celtics series and hope that Brunson, Tatum and Brown are equal favorites. Given Tatum’s early struggles, Brown’s propensity for going hot and cold, I’d bet money that Bruson, if healthy, would be the leading scorer in that series too.
