martin wrote:The transition of Brunson being more off ball with less up the court ball handling may be the key to unlocking this offense, obviously with other stuff going on in addition

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For anyone who watched last years games, ESPECIALLY playoffs, that was a very obvious adjustment. Surprising that Thibs didn't make that adjustment on the fly. He was getting totally beat up.

martin wrote:Not bad

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The difference between having OG, Mikal as your sidekicks versus Zach Lavine and Demar Derozan.

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Meanwhile the wings are shooting the lights out.

nycericanguy wrote:pretty crazy that SAC decided to willingly become CHI 2.0 and bring in Derozan and Zach to be their top scorers.

Outside of DAL, SAC has really fumbled the bag too, trading away Hali to build around Fox, which was absurd to begin with as Hali was a better, younger more modern all around player, only to basically give away FOX as well.

That all done before Scott Perry got there. He is tasked to rebuilding and I gather a pure contract dump/tanking would be along process. SAC ownership has been very active (in a bad way) and hopefully Perry took the gig with parameters. The dude is very capable and no doubt would have learned how Leon and Dolan have worked together to move forward. Remember Perry left Sac after few months having accpeted a promotion to GM from Assistant when Mills took over for Phil.

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:The transition of Brunson being more off ball with less up the court ball handling may be the key to unlocking this offense, obviously with other stuff going on in addition

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/duglust/status/1987678610904305744

For anyone who watched last years games, ESPECIALLY playoffs, that was a very obvious adjustment. Surprising that Thibs didn't make that adjustment on the fly. He was getting totally beat up.

The Knicks ball handlers where not there last year. That's why.

Bridges, Hart, Deuce, Cam. Any of those guys could have brought the ball over half court.
The only change this year is Clarkson for Cam.

It’s not just about bringing the ball up though.

Mikal and Deuce are playing at a different level. And Cam is quite different than Clarkson.

Having 3’ish guys off the bench who can handle is very different, especially when they doing it together; last year Cam and Deuce were meh at running offense.

Knicks haven’t yet proven their second string ball handlers really work yet but it looks really good so far.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6800061/2025/11/12/knicks-win-grizzlies-jalen-brunson-unguardable/?source=emp_shared_article

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Knicks’ Jalen Brunson becomes even more unguardable
James L. Edwards III

NEW YORK — Sometimes we take greatness for granted. We can get so used to it that it loses its luster. And when it’s expected, anything short of it can be a letdown. Call it fatigue. Call it boredom. Whatever.

It feels like Jalen Brunson is falling victim to this.

The New York Knicks guard is only the maestro of a 7-3 basketball team that just won its fifth straight game Tuesday night by beating the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s only averaging 27.7 points per game. He’s only dishing out close to seven assists per game. He’s only been one of the best shooters in basketball.

An early-season MVP conversation shouldn’t take place without Brunson’s name being involved. Yet, as the beginning of the season plays itself out, it feels like the All-NBA guard isn’t getting the credit he deserves.

Brunson is one of the best self-creating scorers in the NBA. He has been for the last several seasons. And, well, he’s still doing that. In bunches, even. But that’s not all. With a new coach in Mike Brown coming in with a plan to put the ball in Brunson’s hands a tad less, the 29-year-old is still thriving, now as an effective catch-and-shoot asset.

The old way had success. Brunson turned into one of the league’s elite offensive players using the pick-and-roll and isolation to break the NBA’s best, good and average defenders down off the dribble. His team is just months removed from making the Eastern Conference finals playing that way. Brunson could have rejected change. Instead, he’s embraced it.

The unguardable star has become even more unguardable.

“In the offseason, (relocation/catch-and-shoot) 3s is what I worked on,” Brunson said after posting 32 points, 10 assists and five rebounds against Memphis. “The talk was playing off-ball, so why don’t I just work on that? That was a lot of the stuff I did this summer. The ball is going in when I do it.”

Through the first 10 games, Brunson has been as impactful playing off the ball as with it in his hands, which says a lot. He’s averaging three catch-and-shoot 3s per game and converting them at a 50 percent clip. For comparison, Brunson only averaged 1.9 catch-and-shoot 3s per game last season. His off-the-dribble shooting is being supplemented by relocation 3s — some of which are by design, some by instinct — and standstill 3s within the flow of the offense.

Brunson has always been successful at the latter. The efficiency has always been there even when the volume isn’t. However, this isn’t just about Brunson’s ability to make these shots. He’s moving around and putting himself in positions to get these looks.

Some ball-dominant NBA stars stand around after they give up the ball. You know who they are. Brunson hasn’t done that. He’s creating a passing option for his teammates by refraining from staying stagnant. It also helps that he’s part of one of the league’s best offensive rebounding teams. Brunson has made himself available on the perimeter when defenses are scrambling after second-chance opportunities.
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“I’ve been around him so long and understand how well he can catch-and-shoot,” Mikal Bridges said. “I feel like I find him the most, him or OG (Anunoby), when I drive because they relocate so well and find the empty space. His catch-and-shoot is ridiculous. He works on it all the time, all day. His numbers might be different because he shoots a lot off the dribble, too.”

Brown said he is playing the long game with Brunson as it pertains to getting him off the ball more. He’s having him come off screens, using him in hand-off situations and as a screener, too. The results off the ball aren’t just 3-point shots. Sometimes it’s Brunson whipping a pass to a teammate on the run. In the meantime, Brunson is still putting up similar numbers to those of his All-NBA seasons while adapting to the change in where his shots are coming from and how they’re coming.

Per NBA.com, Brunson’s average time of possession with the ball last season was 8.6 seconds. He averaged 6.04 dribbles per touch as well. This year, through the Knicks’ first nine games, his average time of possession with the ball is down to 7.6 seconds, and his dribbles per touch have dropped to 4.52. And despite the changes, Brunson is averaging close to 21 shots per game, roughly 2.5 more than last year.

He has found a way to be equally as effective offensively while having the ball less.

“I like to move him around so that it’s a little harder to deny or be physical with him because he’s not in the same place all the time,” Brown said. “He may be setting a screen, getting a screen or cutting backdoor. All of those things, I think, for him in the long run, especially when you’re going against a team in a seven-game series and they’re trying to take certain things away, there are other things that he knows he can go to. We’ll work on that all year.”

There’s a saying in basketball that goes, “The best players learn to adapt.” That’s not always true. We’ve seen instances time and time again when a player struggles to find his way because of a change in style, or a team has to get certain types of role players to put around their particular star.

Brunson appears to be one of the exceptions. He’s thriving in a free-flowing offense that has everyone getting involved. While doing so, Brunson is still being himself in the process. He’s just engaged in other ways, too.

It was hard for teams to stop Brunson from scoring before. It seems even harder for them to stop him now.

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:The transition of Brunson being more off ball with less up the court ball handling may be the key to unlocking this offense, obviously with other stuff going on in addition

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/duglust/status/1987678610904305744

For anyone who watched last years games, ESPECIALLY playoffs, that was a very obvious adjustment. Surprising that Thibs didn't make that adjustment on the fly. He was getting totally beat up.

The Knicks ball handlers where not there last year. That's why.

Bridges, Hart, Deuce, Cam. Any of those guys could have brought the ball over half court.
The only change this year is Clarkson for Cam.

It’s not just about bringing the ball up though.

Mikal and Deuce are playing at a different level. And Cam is quite different than Clarkson.

Having 3’ish guys off the bench who can handle is very different, especially when they doing it together; last year Cam and Deuce were meh at running offense.

Knicks haven’t yet proven their second string ball handlers really work yet but it looks really good so far.

To take it a step further, not only are they handling it, but they, especially Bridges and Hart, are initiating offense.

My lasting impressions of Brown are Kings and the early playoffs losses with Lebron so I dont have the undying love so do but I hope he's our Doc Rivers and we win a title or two with him

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