Even though Jalen Brunson has continued to earn respect from Draymond Green, the Warriors star still doesn’t think this Knicks team — with a certain version of Brunson as its centerpiece — can win a title.
Green initially thought that the Knicks couldn’t stop Joel Embiid during their first-round series against the 76ers, and before the Knicks open the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pacers on Monday at the Garden, he doubled down on Brunson criticism that would apply if they kept advancing.
“I don’t hate the Knicks,” Green said during a clip from “The Draymond Green Show” posted to YouTube on Saturday. However, I am honest, and I’m not delusional, and a ball-dominant Jalen Brunson ain’t going to get you to the promised land, I said.
“I didn’t say you weren’t gonna win your first-round series. I didn’t even say you weren’t gonna win the second-round series because if I’m honest, I think you guys should easily win the second-round series. So I didn’t say that. I said you couldn’t get to the promised land. And quite frankly, if I’m honest, I still don’t think you can.”
Green, the 34-year-old forward who averaged 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season with the Warriors, did admit that he was impressed by the way Brunson rebounded after struggling early in the 76ers series.
He shot 16-for-55 across Games 1 and 2 — both contests that the Knicks still managed to win — before stringing together four consecutive games with at least 39 points, including 41 in their series-clinching win Thursday.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks in the NBA playoffs
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- Josh Hart asked out of Game 6 in apparent Knicks injury concern
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That’s what Green wanted to see, especially from an “up-and-coming guy” who’s “taking the next step in your career.”
“How you bounce back when you have a bad game in these playoffs matters,” Green said on his show, “and Jalen Brunson did that at a level that not many people [have] done before.”
Still, Green reiterated his point that Brunson being “ball-dominant” will prevent the Knicks from winning their first title since 1973 multiple times throughout his most recent show.
The Knicks need the version of Brunson that’s “sharing and getting off the ball,” getting to his spots and setting up shots for others,” Green said.
And that, in his eyes, will bring out the best version of the Knicks both against the Pacers and moving forward.