Cade Cunningham has had the Knicks’ number. But Jalen Brunson holds the answer key.
And for a Knicks team walking into its first-round playoff series with a 1-3 record against the Detroit Pistons, Brunson’s dominance undermines the final tally.
Yes, Detroit took the regular-season series. But New York wasn’t whole for any of those matchups — and still, the Pistons never figured out how to slow down the Knicks’ All-Star point guard at Madison Square Garden.
Now the stakes are higher, the lights are brighter — and Brunson is still the test Detroit hasn’t passed. And if they still haven’t figured it out now, the Knicks’ All-Star captain won’t just beat them — he’ll bury the Pistons before their postseason ever gets started.
Brunson averaged 28.5 points per game against the Pistons in four regular-season contests. He dropped 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting in a 30-point rout on Nov. 1 — the Knicks’ lone win in the series — and scored 31 points in two of their three losses. His only off-night came on April 10, just his third game back from a month-long right ankle injury. He scored 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting in the front end of a back-to-back.
Still, Brunson commands attention. And Detroit knows it.
“You just have to make it difficult. He makes tough shots,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said ahead of Game 1 at The Garden on Saturday. “He is, in my opinion, one of the best winners that this league has currently playing — but it just can’t be easy, right?”
Detroit spent the week combing through film of Brunson’s tendencies, hoping to find even the slightest edge.
“Like, you know his first move. You got to try to eliminate his first move,” Bickerstaff continued. “You’ve got to make him a shot-taker and not get to the free throw line — small things like that.
“But again, we know who he is. Obviously [we] have that respect for him, but we just have to make it a challenge to be as physical as we can without fouling, limit his touches, try to keep him from his sweet spots and all those things.”
The plan? Unleash Ausar Thompson — Detroit’s second-year swingman and 94-foot irritant — as Brunson’s primary defender.
Thompson, who many believed was snubbed from the All-Rookie teams, has a 7-foot wingspan, elite athleticism, and the kind of defensive bite that’s turned heads around the league. He’ll try to hound Brunson the full length of the floor, much like Nic Batum, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Andrew Nembhard tried last postseason.
That plan didn’t work last year with an injury-ravaged Knicks team. And if Brunson is back in rhythm after rehabbing his ankle, it’s a steep hill to climb again.
Brunson averaged 35.5 points per game in last season’s first-round win over the Sixers, then 29.7 in the second round against the Pacers. But this year’s Knicks aren’t relying on his scoring quite the same way.
With Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges now in the mix, the Knicks believe Brunson won’t have to carry the same burden — even if he’s fully capable of doing so.
“Last year in playoffs, Jalen was such an offensive force — with guys getting to step up lately and pieces added, not load on his shoulders this time? Every year is different. I think you have to understand that,” said Tom Thibodeau. “And what does the team need from you? You operate from that standpoint, which he has done. He can move in a lot of different directions. That’s the great value of him.
“You can play him on the ball, off the ball. You can use him as a playmaker, as a scorer. You can play him in the post, you can play him in pick and roll, you can play him in catch and shoot. He scores in three different levels. There’s a lot of different things that puts a lot of pressure on the defense, and he creates easy offense for people.”
The Pistons are physical. They’re deep. They’ve tripled their win count from last season and believe they’ve got a shot.
But if they don’t solve Brunson, none of that will matter. Especially if the captain’s got the ball in his hands with the game on the line.
“It’s just something that he thrives in,” said Josh Hart. “He loves big moments and that’s something that he loves. It’s something that we’re extremely comfortable with the ball in his hands in those moments. He has that confidence because he puts the work in.”
