While Brunson doesn’t turn the Knicks into a ‘Big Three’ of any kind, he does add a winning mentality with the potential to grow even more. The former Villanova Wildcat helped his team to two national championships and was a key part of numerous Dallas playoff berths.
Brunson isn’t expected to be the sole difference maker in turning New York around, but he will be counted on to help turn the blue and orange into a playoff team. He’s a win-first point guard who can add scoring and be a useful playmaker.
Knicks culture tends to embrace players like Brunson, so fitting in with his new team shouldn’t be an issue. However, the pressure of playing in New York can be heavy, so like everyone, there will be some goals Brunson will be expected to hit.
Whether or not these are actually written in his contract doesn’t matter. Brunson will be making more than any other Knicks player this upcoming season, so there will be many eyes watching to see how he performs in year one.
New York Knicks</a> made a marquee free agent pickup, signing Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal. Brunson comes over from the Dallas Mavericks, where he flourished in the backcourt alongside Luka Doncic. Although the contract has been scrutinized by the media, no one can deny the Knicks <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/07/29/3-goals-knicks-point-guard-jalen-brunson-2022-23/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/07/23/jalen-brunson-signifies-knicks-stopgap-point-guard-era/">have been in need of a point guard,</a> and at the very least, they have solved that issue for the near future.</p>
<p>While Brunson doesn’t turn the Knicks into a ‘Big Three’ of any kind, he does add a winning mentality with the potential to grow even more. The former Villanova Wildcat helped his team to two national championships and was a key part of numerous Dallas playoff berths.</p>
<h2>Jalen Brunson should look to check off these goals in his first season with the Knicks</h2>
<p>Brunson isn’t expected to be the sole difference maker in turning New York around, but he will be counted on to help turn the blue and orange into a playoff team. He’s a win-first point guard who can add scoring and be a useful playmaker.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/07/29/3-goals-knicks-point-guard-jalen-brunson-2022-23/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/zZnQvdzpxpo?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen title="Jalen Brunson 2021-22 Regular Season Highlights"></iframe></div>
<p>Knicks culture tends to embrace players like Brunson, so fitting in with his new team shouldn’t be an issue. However, the pressure of playing in New York can be heavy, so like everyone, there will be some goals Brunson will be expected to hit.</p>
<p>Whether or not these are actually written in his contract doesn’t matter. Brunson will be making more than any other Knicks player this upcoming season, so there will be many eyes watching to see how he performs in year one.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/07/29/3-goals-knicks-point-guard-jalen-brunson-2022-23/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Winning comes before anything </a>
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on a Mavericks team that features Luka Doncic</a>, who finished the season fifth in assists per game.</p>
<p>If Julius Randle is still on the Knicks in October, Brunson will be in a similar position, as Randle is a non-traditional playmaking big who puts up some big numbers as a passer.</p>
<p>However, New York didn’t sign Brunson to play second-fiddle in the playmaking department. The Knicks finished dead last in the Association in assists per game last season. They also finished 30th the year before. The last time New York had a point guard who averaged at least five assists per game for consecutive seasons was when Raymond Felton was in town.</p>
<p>The biggest thing the Knicks are looking for out of Brunson’s game is consistency as a playmaker. Sure, Elfrid Payton had a very solid season setting up teammates three years ago. Other guys have come in for a single year and put up nice numbers by finding guys for buckets.</p>
<p>But Brunson was signed to do this for the long-term, not just as a filler as management searches for the next guy. Brunson is that next guy.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/07/29/3-goals-knicks-point-guard-jalen-brunson-2022-23/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Thibodeau starts with defense </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130945" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/07/29/3-goals-knicks-point-guard-jalen-brunson-2022-23/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1398406818.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Jalen Brunson" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1398406818.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1398406818-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
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<h3>Goal No. 3: Become an even better defender</h3>
<p>There are a lot of NBA qualities we already know Jalen Brunson will provide. He’s an established winner. He’s a proven playmaker. Brunson can create his own shot and will give the Knicks another scoring threat.</p>
<p>But the only question mark is his defense. And Tom Thibodeau commands good defense.</p>
<p>Now, this is not a knock on Brunson’s effort on defense. After all, at 6’1″, his height limits his ability to guard bigger guards. However, there’s always room for improvement.</p>
<p>Last year, Brunson saw his biggest leap in steals per game since entering the league in 2018. Knicks fans would be thrilled if it went up again.</p>
<p>After all, steals per game is the easiest way to measure how effective a point guard is on defense.</p>
<p>Going deeper into the analytics, Brunson’s defensive rating in 2021-22 was 111.8, fairly close to a few other guards in Kyle Lowry and Jordan Poole. Defensive rating measures how many points a player allows per 100 possessions. That alone tells us that while Brunson may not force a lot of takeaways per game, he does a decent job at keeping the offensive player in front of him.</p>
<p>However, there’s always a next step a player can take, and if Brunson can become a better defender, I’m sure Knicks fans would be even happier about having him in New York.</p>
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