martin wrote:

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https://www.twitter.com/NBA/status/2118242604311834855

I haven't been this excited about a Knicks "second draft" pickup since Cam Reddish 😃..., 😟

BigDaddyG wrote:

martin wrote:

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https://www.twitter.com/NBA/status/2118242604311834855

I haven't been this excited about a Knicks "second draft" pickup since Cam Reddish 😃..., 😟

Man, I thought Reddish was such a good pickup. That lasted like a month

Clean wrote:

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https://www.twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA/status/2118348799529685282

After years of arguing about Thibs and how he does things you have no idea how much I appreciate Mike Brown.

Some super interesting stuff from their analytical department

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/IanBegley/status/2118371995532308542

In answering a question about extending Jalen Brunson’s minutes, Mike Brown noted that the NYK analytics staff tracks how players perform in 2-minute increments in order to see if anything diminishes at a certain minute mark: “Our analytics guys, they do a nice job charting — it’s above my head — how guys play in two-minute increments. Some guys, after six minutes, their 3-point field goal percentage drops. But (the staff) can also can track their movement, how quickly they’re still moving out on the floor, if that slows down or not, and other things. Jalen’s just seems to go up every two minutes and there’s really no time it goes down. So, can he play 12 straight minutes? Yes. Can he play 36 to 38? Yes. But at the end of the day, it’s going to impact him, in my opinion, come playoff time, so I have to be conscious of not going to the well too much, especially at this point in the season.”

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https://www.twitter.com/JLEdwardsIII/status/2118327549528780960

Jalen Brunson lit up the Bulls, but the Knicks didn’t want to chase history
James L. Edwards III

NEW YORK — Even by Jalen Brunson’s standards, what took place in the first quarter of Wednesday’s Knicks win over the Chicago Bulls wasn’t normal.

Twelve minutes. Twenty-two points on 8-of-10 shooting. It was like being in the room when Sandro Botticelli created “The Birth of Venus,” or watching Andre 3000 rap his verse to “Aquemini” for the first time live in the studio. It was a master at work.

As Brunson’s final bucket of the opening frame went in, it was easy to begin wondering if there was a chance history could be made. One hundred points seems unreachable, but a few have flirted with it this century. To get there, a first quarter like this from Brunson is a good enough starting point to at least prompt asking yourself, even if for only a moment, “Could this be the night?”

Of course, in the end, it didn’t happen. It’s more than likely no one will ever surpass Wilt Chamberlain’s historic mark. Brunson ended the night with 33 points in just 28 minutes as New York demolished Chicago, 135-105, and scored a franchise-record 84 first-half points. Yet in the midst of Brunson’s absurd first 12 minutes — which marked the third-highest scoring total in a quarter of his career and tells you everything you need to know about his mastery with the basketball — the thought crept in: Would Knicks coach Mike Brown consider letting his star begin the second quarter? Just to see what happens?

The answer was no, as Brown stuck to his normal rotation for the guard. But just out of curiosity, it was worth asking about after the game.

“No, because he played 12 straight minutes,” said Brown, who wasn’t interested in overusing his star two weeks into the season against the lowly Bulls.

Then, knocking on wood, Brown said, “He’s about as durable as anyone I’ve been around. He’s mentally tough. He’s physically tough. He can push himself to go.”

Brown went on to explain some of the science behind Brunson’s durability. The coach’s analytics department charts how players perform in two-minute increments, both in distinct facets of the game and in how their movements on the court change. Brown said the data shows that most players start to see things like their 3-point percentage drop after six minutes and don’t move with the same urgency over that span. It makes sense, but it was interesting to hear Brown go into detail about some of the lengths his team goes to best utilize its players.

Brunson, to no one’s surprise, appears to be an exception to the average player.

“Jalen’s numbers just seem to go up every two minutes and there’s really no time when it’s down,” Brown said of the 2024-25 Clutch Player of the Year. “So, can he play 12 straight minutes? Yes. Can he play 36-38 minutes? Yes. But, at the end of the day, it’s going to impact him, in my opinion, come playoff time. I have to be conscious not to go to the well too much, especially at this point in the season.”

Spoken like a true coach. Brown would prefer to play the long game instead of risking his star’s well-being in pursuit of the incredibly small chance that he would put up 80-plus points in a midweek November game.

Would Brunson ever consider asking his coach to stay in the game when shots are falling at that volume. He didn’t rule it out.

“Maybe,” Brunson said after pondering the question for a few seconds.

Brunson is a historian of the game. He’s also not shy to acknowledge his gift as a scorer, although his main focus is winning. As the face of Kobe Bryant’s signature shoe, though, it’s safe to say that the possibility of having one of the NBA’s greatest scoring performances would mean something to Brunson.

Would he be interested in going for one of the celebrated individual point totals in NBA history if a situation like Wednesday’s presented itself again?

Again, he didn’t rule it out.

“I mean, possibly,” Brunson continued. “It would have to be the right moment, the right time. I don’t want to say ‘no’ because you never know when you’re going to be in the situation, but I just want to respect the game as much as possible.”

Brunson was disrespectful to the Bulls with his scoring, which has seen an uptick in efficiency over the last four games after an unusual start to the season. Through the Knicks’ first four games, Brunson was shooting just 36 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3. Over their last four, Brunson is knocking down 46 percent of shots from the field and 44 percent of his 3s. New York, which started the season 1-3, is now 4-4 after winning three of its last four games.

Brunson had a packed summer after the Knicks won the title, appearing on every television show under the sun. He also had surgery on his shooting wrist and wasn’t cleared for full basketball activities until right before training camp.

We’re starting to see Brunson shake off some of the rust that accumulated during New York’s summer of celebration — which means it’s likely that on one night, the right night, I’ll probably catch myself once again pondering if history will be threatened with the flick of Brunson’s wrist.

Panos wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

martin wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/NBA/status/2118242604311834855

I haven't been this excited about a Knicks "second draft" pickup since Cam Reddish 😃..., 😟

How about the standard bearer: Anthony Randolph?

Hey Knicks also got Julius and Brunson for free too

Clean wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA/status/2118348799529685282

After years of arguing about Thibs and how he does things you have no idea how much I appreciate Mike Brown.

At this point, Brown has done it all. Winning a chip was his Ph.D. moment. It gave him the full experience of taking a team all the way across the finish line.

It is why we don't have to spend too much energy worrying about a slow start. He's seeing the pieces in ways we never will be able to due to his position and the data his staff is providing him.

I like his eye on the prize mentality where the goal of winning another championship filters all of their decisions on rotations now.

Brown has questions to answer during the regular season about the players, especially guys like Kole, Mo, Wiseman and now Knecht. We may yet see Akins and Nickel too.

Come playoff time and those rotation choices become critical. Brown is optimizing all season long while keeping our starters fresher. He really is the anti-Thibs.