Jalen Brunson's presence has Knicks playing smarter, faster basketball

When he was young, Jalen Brunson used to come to Madison Square Garden to watch his dad, Rick, play for the Knicks.

He was around four years old at the time, imitating moves he saw from Latrell Sprewell and Alan Houston.

So things came full circle for Brunson on Friday night. He played his first game at the Garden as a Knick, scoring 17 points and handing out six assists in New York’s blowout win over the Pistons.

You think Brunson was feeling sentimental as PA announcer Michael Walczewski said his name during introductions at the Garden?

Nope.

“I think down the line when my career starts winding down I can look back on moments like this and think about how special they were. But I think right now it’s best to stay locked in, best to stay focused,” Brunson said Friday night. “It was a great feeling, but all that goes out the window if we don’t try to win games.”

The Knicks obviously believe Brunson can help them do just that. They shed salary in the 2022 offseason to create the cap space necessary to ink Brunson to a four-year, $106 million deal.

If Brunson, 26, remains on his current trajectory, the contract will look like a wise investment.

He has 15 assists and zero turnovers in his first two Knicks games.

And Brunson’s pass-first approach seems to be contagious.

As a team, the Knicks have 57 assists and 24 turnovers in their first two games.

“When you play the game that way, the game is easy for everyone,” Tom Thibodeau said Friday night. “But it requires a lot of energy and it requires sacrifice. It’s not just playing fast, and you don’t wanna take reckless shots, but you gotta move without the ball and you gotta move with pace. And so, getting it up fast is the initial part, but creating the movement is the secondary part that’s equally important.

“…. We still gotta understand, we wanna get as many layups as we can, as many free throws as we can, and as many corner threes as we can.”

For large stretches of Friday’s win, the Knicks got whatever they wanted against the young Pistons.

Immanuel Quickley (20 points) and RJ Barrett (18 points) bounced back from rough outings against Memphis on Wednesday. The Knick bench outscored Detroit, 63-15.

The club seems to be playing a bit faster than last season. That’s been a point of emphasis from training camp. Brunson’s presence certainly helps. Julius Randle has also been running the floor well so far, according to Thibodeau. And Derrick Rose has noticed.

“His approach has been totally different. The way he’s reading the floor is totally different,” Rose said of Randle. “His passing has been unbelievable. Understanding that we want to get up a certain amount of threes and he’s finding the shooters.”

The Knick offense ran through Randle for most of the last two seasons. Two years ago, it was fantastic. Last season, Randle’s role as the engine didn’t work out so well.

Now, it starts with Brunson. And based on early assist-to-turnover results, it may work well.

Thibodeau loves what he’s seen so far.

“He has a great feel for when to go and when to pass. And he’s always scanning and reading the floor,” the coach said of Brunson “So often times — and he knows if there’s a good matchup or something going on, he can put you at a disadvantage to create the advantage. His mind is probably his greatest asset, and he’s always been that way.

"He was that way in high school, in college; he’s been that way in the pros. The game’s not too big for him.”

Brunson seemed comfortable in his first big game at the Garden. Was he nervous before tipoff ? Was he thinking about his dad play there as a Knick? Was he emotional?

He might have been. Just don’t expect him to talk about it for a few more years.