When the New York Knicks lost their Power Forward Julius Randle in January, many in the NBA world believed that the Knicks’ season was over. However, Jalen Brunson and Co. upped their game and stormed into the playoffs as the second seed in the East. Thanks to their elite two-way play, they have set up a series against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals after beating the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. In the series against Philly, Jalen Brunson led the charge with 35.5 points and 9 assists per game, spearheading the series win for the Knicks. In that wake, Paul Pierce gave Jalen Brunson a ton of credit on Undisputed earlier today for elevating the Knicks in the postseason.
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While previewing the Knicks-76ers series, the 2008 champion had projected previously that the 76ers would breeze through the first round. Pierce had discredited the Knickerbockers and Brunson then because of their size disadvantage. But Pierce accepted that he had wrongly underestimated them during the series preview.
Therefore, as if to rectify his past mistakes, Pierce praised Brunson for his historical scoring run. He acknowledged that the Knicks PG has exceeded his expectations. “Did I know Jalen Brunson was gonna play well? I thought he’d play well but I didn’t know he was gonna play this well,” Pierce told Keyshawn Johnson and Skip Bayless.
Calling Embiid the best player in the series, Pierce argued that the 76ers also had the “third-best” player in the series, Tyrese Maxey. The Truth opined that Maxey fizzled out in key moments, which closed the door on their chances. However, it was Brunson’s dominant ways that really elevated the Knicks’ chances. Pierce even argued that Brunson has emerged as the no. 1 player in postseason, going as far as calling him the best player in the playoffs right now.
“Jalen Brunson is playing the best basketball in these playoffs.”
— @PaulPierce34 pic.twitter.com/2ZaAtEbeyX
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 3, 2024
“I am stunned that a guy like Jalen Brunson who has had a great, phenomenal year. He should be on the All-NBA maybe first team. He could be on the first time, you can make that case. Right now, Jalen Brunson is probably the most dominant player. He is the best player in the playoffs right now…he’s playing the best,” Paul Pierce added.
The 10x All-Star isn’t the only one who has been singing the praises of the lefty guard. The NBA world has been mesmerized by the versatile scorer.
Jalen Brunson has earned massive plaudits
Charles Barkley recently commended the New York Knicks for signing Jalen Brunson in the 2022 offseason. Barkley wanted props for predicting that the Knicks made a spectacular move to bolster their fortunes and snatched the uptempo guard away from the Mavericks without paying too much. During the post-game show after the Knicks’ series win, Barkley called Brunson the “best free agent signing of all time”. For Chuck, the 2024 All-Star’s development has been unprecedented.
“When I said, y’all told me I was crazy. Brunson is one of the best free agent signings of all time. He’s not LeBron, he’s not Kobe, Kevin Durant, those are all-timers, but for signing a guy that nobody, this guy, he shocked there. I guarantee you the Knicks didn’t think he was gonna be this good,” Barkley told his Inside the NBA co-panelists.
Jalen Brunson’s leadership has been the talk of the town throughout the playoffs. He has risen both his game and the spirit of the roster without their premier forward Julius Randle. Despite fielding three guards and a wing in their starting five, the undersized Knicks outhustled and outrebounded the 76ers as their lead guard took care of the offensive end.
