Jalen Brunson Demands End of Knicks Playoff Narrative

Jalen Brunson shut down one of the New York Knicks' most common postseason excuses.

May 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) handles the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) during the second quarter of game seven of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has asked his adoring public to avoid adding insult to literal injury.

Brunson tore apart the popular metropolitan narrative that injuries were the direct cause of the Knicks' elimination from the most recent edition of the NBA Playoffs on the latest edition of his "Roommates Show" hosted alongside Josh Hart. The newly-minted All-Star said the true culprit resides not on the injury report but rather in the nearest mirror.

“I hate the narrative,” Brunson said (h/t John Flanigan of SNY). “Honestly, that kind of pissed me off. Yeah, we didn’t have a full team but I don’t want the narrative being ‘Oh they’re hurt so let’s give them a pass.’ No, we had chances to win that series and didn’t."

May 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) flexes his left hand during the third quarter of game seven of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Behind the efforts of Brunson, Hart, and more, the Knicks put forth one of their best efforts in recent memory, winning 50 games and securing the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. But the shorthanded group dropped a seven-game set to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, denying the Knicks a conference final berth for the 24th consecutive season.

Little more needs to be said about the Knicks' injury reports that frequently resembled starting fives: Julius Randle missed the entire run due to a shoulder injury sustained in January while OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson were lost during the postseason trek. Brunson and Hart each sustained injuries during the final stanzas of the seven-game series, with the former breaking his hand in the midst of a 130-109 Game 7 defeat at Madison Square Garden.

But Brunson isn't buying the narrative that medical means were the primary source of denial.

“I just hate the fact that sometimes people give us the fact that we were injured or injuries happen. Like yeah, they're part of the game but that's not the reason we lost, we had chances to win, we were winning with those injuries.”

To Brunson's point, the Knicks jumped out to a 2-0 series lead and had a tie game in the final minute of Game 3 in Indianapolis before Andrew Nembhard sank a triple that partially changed the course of the series. Indiana won four of the next five to secure a bid in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they fell to the Boston Celtics in four games.

The Knicks' seemingly cursed medical luck no doubt played a role in their eventual demise. But Brunson believes that the leftovers' play over the final five games produced the most painful sensations of all.

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