{"id":28664,"date":"2026-04-25T23:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=28664"},"modified":"2026-04-25T23:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:08:11","slug":"the-state-of-the-knicks-offense-is-exhausting-jalen-brunson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=28664","title":{"rendered":"The state of the Knicks offense is exhausting Jalen Brunson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>ATLANTA \u2014 The biggest hole on the Knicks roster has become more and more noticeable.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s allowed the Hawks to stymie Jalen Brunson.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>One of coach Mike Brown\u2019s biggest goals this season was to have Brunson play off the ball and allow others to more often facilitate the offense. The idea was to take some of that burden away from Brunson and create easier shots for him, while also keeping his supporting cast more involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in the first three games of this first-round series, which the Knicks trail 2-1 and are \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/24\/sports\/the-knicks-cant-ignore-the-obvious-anymore-in-crucial-game-4\/\">playing for our lives,\u201d<\/a> as Miles McBride said, that element of the offense has largely been absent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe called it a few times, you gotta give Atlanta credit,\u201d Brown said Friday. \u201cThey did a nice job of defending it the few times we called it. But we gotta keep trying to implement it, whether it\u2019s play call or within the flow of what we\u2019re trying to do conceptually on the offensive end of the floor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that outside of Brunson, they lack ball handlers who are capable of creating and orchestrating the offense. Josh Hart can, but it\u2019s not his ideal role. OG Anunoby is best as a spot-up shooter. Karl-Anthony Towns is a good passer, but he\u2019s not someone who can break down a defense by himself. Mikal Bridges, despite Brown saying before the year he\u2019d be the top candidate for the role, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/24\/sports\/mikal-bridges-is-pulling-the-knicks-with-him-toward-rock-bottom\/\">has floundered as a ball handler<\/a>, particularly in Game 3 when he had four turnovers and was benched for the majority of the second half.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"39191715\"><\/p>\n<p><\/button><figcaption>Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) gives chase during the fourth quarter.  <span class=\"credit\">Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>There are no true backup point guards in the rotation either. McBride and Landry Shamet play there at times, but neither is a natural. Jose Alvarado is, but his limited offensive ability has meant he\u2019s on the fringe of the rotation. Tyler Kolek is completely out of the rotation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s all falling on Brunson again. And that means less movement on offense as a whole. As the four other players on the court stand and wait for Brunson to create everything, it makes it easier for the Hawks to blitz him, send double-teams and make it difficult for him to take high-quality shots. Usually, it\u2019s Dyson Daniels or Nickeil Alexander-Walker guarding him, with help from a second defender.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<p>In Game 3, Brunson shot 3-for-11 \u2014 and 0-for-3 from 3-point range \u2014 when guarded by Daniels or Alexander-Walker, per the league\u2019s official tracking stats.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey both are great defenders,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cYou have to be smart, you have to be kind of tactical in what you do. Just being able to not really focus on what they\u2019re doing but focus on your shot and doing the things that I need to do to make sure I\u2019m comfortable shooting the shots I want to shoot and be in positions I want to be in. But you gotta give them credit. They make things very difficult.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"39191737\"><\/p>\n<p><\/button><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.35629139;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/nba-playoffs-game-3-new-126280795.jpg\" alt=\"Jalen Brunson (11) goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) fouls during the fourth quarter. &#010;\" class=\"wp-image-39191737\" \/><figcaption>Jalen Brunson (11) goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) fouls during the fourth quarter.  <span class=\"credit\">Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nobody has had the ball in his hands more than Brunson during these playoffs across the league. He\u2019s having to work incredibly hard for his shots \u2014 almost none of which are open.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks barely have anyone who can even bring the ball up the court, which would allow Brunson to collect it in the halfcourt and remove some wear and tear on him. Daniels and Alexander-Walker are picking him up full court, so by the time Brunson finally gets the ball into the halfcourt, he\u2019s expended significant energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was a little better when <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/24\/sports\/mike-brown-cant-wait-any-longer-to-make-this-knicks-change\/\">McBride was on the floor with Brunson in place of Bridges<\/a>. There were a few possessions in the third quarter \u2014 during an 11-0 Knicks run \u2014 when McBride was able to bring the ball up the floor. When Bridges tried that, it was an utter failure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Membership - Inside the Knicks\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n                            What\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court                        <\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n                            Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.                       <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n                        Thank you                   <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe all have to be aggressive, not just to shoot the ball, but be aggressive to touch the paint [on drives],\u201d Brown said. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t have anything in the paint, you gotta spray it. We haven\u2019t gone anywhere near our sprays that we\u2019ve wanted to in these first three games.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Brunson is also getting pummeled on the other end trying to guard CJ McCollum, who has torched him this series. So much so that the Knicks have been forced to change their coverage and have Hart guard him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Overreliance on offense and getting bullied on defense equals a player who is getting worn out.\u00a0\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<pre><code>            !function (f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n                if (f.fbq) return;\n                n = f.fbq = function () {\n                    n.callMethod ?\n                        n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments)\n                };\n                if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\n                n.push = n;\n                n.loaded = !0;\n                n.version = '2.0';\n                n.queue = [];\n                t = b.createElement(e);\n                t.async = !0;\n                t.src = v;\n                s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n                s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s)\n            }(window, document, 'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1391750046313645');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/24\/sports\/the-state-of-the-knicks-offense-is-exhausting-jalen-brunson\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA \u2014 The biggest hole on the Knicks roster has become more and more noticeable.\u00a0 It\u2019s allowed the Hawks to stymie Jalen Brunson.\u00a0 One of coach Mike Brown\u2019s biggest goals this season was to have Brunson play off the ball and allow others to more often facilitate the offense. The idea was to take some &#8230; <a title=\"The state of the Knicks offense is exhausting Jalen Brunson\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=28664\" aria-label=\"Read more about The state of the Knicks offense is exhausting Jalen Brunson\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-state-of-the-Knicks-offense-is-exhausting-Jalen-Brunson.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28666,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28664\/revisions\/28666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}