The New York Knicks will face elimination during Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. And if the Knicks do ultimately get eliminated, it won’t be because of the efforts of star point guard Jalen Brunson, according to ESPN’s Mike Greenberg.
During Thursday’s edition of Get Up ahead of Game 5, Greenberg voiced his frustrations with those blaming Brunson for the Knicks’ problems in this series, even going as far as claiming that Brunson has “dragged an average Knicks team” to this point in the postseason.
“You know the expression ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’? If I hear one more word of criticism about Jalen Brunson… Or the idea that somehow Jalen Brunson is the reason the Knicks are not doing this and not doing that, I’m going to smash my head against a wall,” said Greenberg. “Jalen Brunson has single-handedly dragged a very average team to the Eastern Conference Finals. And if they hadn’t gotten as banged up as they did last year, this would be the second straight year they made the NBA’s final four.
“I can go down the list of the other players on this team and their flaws. But if you watch them, you already know what they are between Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, and OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. They are good players, every one of them good players. But every one of them, significantly flawed.
“They need one guy to be a star, a superstar. They need one guy to be genuinely brilliant. And night in and night out, Jalen Brunson has been that. So now, when they run into a team that is much deeper, and let’s face it, much better, and Brunson is somehow not able to carry them over the top of that, we have decided that it’s his fault. That drives me nuts and I’m not going to listen to any more of it.”
If you wanted to be critical about Brunson’s play in this series, one could argue that his inability to defend without fouling has been a pretty significant problem for the Knicks. The star guard has spent long stretches on the bench in foul trouble.
But for the most part, Brunson has been special when he’s on the court, averaging 33.3 points per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field.
Considering all of the conversations about Brunson being the greatest player to ever put on a Knicks uniform throughout the postseason, Greenberg may be frustrated with the fact that anybody in sports media is blaming him for the Knicks’ issues.
Either way, Greeny is clearly ready to defend Brunson should the Knicks get eliminated on Thursday night.