Jalen Brunson looked inward and took the blame because that’s who he is.
It’s what he’s done since he became the Knicks’ unquestioned leader and what he will continue to do regardless of who is really at fault. But the sentiment he expressed after the Knicks’ 116-102 loss to the Celtics Saturday night at Madison Square Garden really would have been better served coming from his teammates.
“It doesn’t matter what I did,” Brunson said after the game. “We didn’t bring it tonight fully.”
It’s noble for Brunson to say “we” didn’t bring it, on a night in which, individually, he certainly brought it.
Despite being guarded by five-time NBA All-Defensive Team member Jrue Holiday and one-time All-Defensive Team member Derrick White, Brunson poured in 34 points on 12 of 25 from the field and 4 of 9 from 3-point range, also adding nine assists.
“Man, he was baking Jrue and Derrick,” Josh Hart joked. “Nah, [Brunson’s] a guy that, he doesn’t get sped up. Obviously, I played with Jrue for a year in New Orleans; to me, he is the best defender I’ve seen. He has quickness, great instinct, good hands, strong. We were just trying to get him off [Brunson] as best as we could, but [Brunson] is good at being able to create his own shots. His footwork is great, so he’s able to get to his shots in different ways.”
Brunson’s brilliance was spoiled by rough offensive nights for most of his teammates.
And it’s starting to become thematic as the injury-riddled Knicks have lost five of their last six games, turning a once-surging season into what has become a concerning slide.
Without Julius Randle (shoulder) and OG Anunoby (elbow), the Knicks seemingly have had one path to victory — Brunson carrying them there. But despite his continued dominance, Brunson has not been able to secure wins by himself.
The Knicks have asked Brunson to produce nearly all of their offense during this stretch, and defenses have since realized that he’s the team’s only major threat on that side of the ball, and have started to aggressively double-team and trap him.
In those six games during this stretch, Brunson has posted a whopping 34.7 percent usage rate — second among qualified players in the NBA behind Jaren Jackson Jr. of the lowly Grizzlies.
During Saturday night’s loss, it skyrocketed to 39.6 percent.
It’s a significant increase from his season-long 29.3 percent usage rate, which — when they’re both healthy — is nearly identical to Randle’s 28.7 percent season-long usage rate.
There’s been little to make up for Randle’s missing workload, and much of it has fallen on Brunson’s shoulders. And it’s repeatedly getting exposed.
It’s even more glaring at the ends of games, when opposing defenses have their best defenders on the court and can hone in on Brunson even more. If Brunson can’t find a shot, the Knicks have little Plan B.
“Jalen is gonna work,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said Saturday. “[The Celtics are] very good defensively with that length at the rim, but Jalen knows how to get to spots. I thought in the first half, he moved around really well. Played off the catch a lot, able to get set. But then we hit that stretch [late in the game] where they were tough on us.”
Brunson’s current workload isn’t sustainable, and will wear him down come playoff time if it continues.
And it’s not like it’s resulted in wins, either.
Put simply, with Randle and Anunoby’s returns certainly not imminent, the Knicks have to find a way to get Brunson more help on offense.
Much of that responsibility falls on Donte DiVincenzo and newcomers Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, who all combined to shoot a woeful 9 of 30 from the field Saturday night.
With that kind of production around Brunson, the Knicks have little chance — no matter how great Brunson is.
But still, Brunson will always find a way to take blame.
“I got to be better,” Brunson said. “Plain and simple, from a vocal leader standpoint to not turning the ball over and just being a better decision-maker.”