BT & Sal: Could Jalen Brunson play at superstar level to carry Knicks into Eastern Conference Final?
On Monday, Sal declared that the only way the Knicks would advance to the Eastern Conference Final would be if Jalen Brunson played at the superstar level he did through the final four games against the 76ers in round one.
On Tuesday, Sal doubled down on that declaration, and believes Brunson is capable of providing that for the Knicks, even with his injured right foot.
"If he can't go give you 40 or 40-plus tonight, the Knicks are done," Sal said. "I don't see any way possible they beat the Pacers tonight or otherwise if he doesn't give them 40 points. I still am buying Brunson. I saw him do it in the second half of game two when he came back."
Brunson played like the star he has been since joining the Knicks when he returned from the locker room in game two after returning to the locker room with a foot injury. His return keyed a dominant New York run to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, but he hasn't been the same since, and BT is worried that he won't return to peak form in time.
"For Brunson to get into the 40s, he's gotta go to the line 12, 13, 14 times," BT said. "When you can't get by people - it's all about special manipulation - if his footwork is not perfect, he's not gonna be able to manipulate defenders to get to the line with the frequency to get 40. That's not good."
