SPANISH HARLEM – It’s fair to say that the New York Knicks are a different team without Jalen Brunson… but can this injury turn out to be a good thing for the team moving forward? No, I’m not crazy and the Knicks are a better team with Brunson than without, yet I have this feeling that playing without their captain out can do a couple of things that I want to touch on today.
More Free Flowing Offense
While Brunson is their point of attack on offense, the offense can be stagnant when good defense is played. You can say the same with about 95 percent of the players in the NBA and he is as creative as they come as an individual scorer, it can also leave other players on offense watching what is going on instead of reacting and getting open. It’s ok to do that every now and then but the faster he gets the ball around, the more potent they become.
Without relying on Brunson, the Knicks can move the ball around more and find the open man. That’s not to say that he is a ball hog, but most defenses make him the number 1 property on offense and that can disrupt an offensive rhythm from time to time and game to game. The more opportunities the players have to score can be beneficial to Brunson and take some pressure as he can take it easy when he is ready to come back from the ankle injury.
More Opportunities for Mikal Bridges
Karl-Anthony Towns will be their number one option on offense, yet this gives Bridges more time to run the offense, which we know he can excel at. Having a more comfortable and confident Mikal is what we all want to see going into the playoffs and again can give Brunson an easier time to get adjusted once he is ready to return. It hasn’t been easy to get the opportunities that he had with the Brooklyn Nets, and he has had some really good scoring games this season except they haven’t come as often as many would like to see. This can be a blessing in disguise for him and Tom Thibodeau, who should me more willing to call his number even after Jalen returns.
That’s it for now, please come back tomorrow for more great content from Action Jackson Sternberg.
