Jalen Brunson makes striking admission after Knicks' crushing loss to Celtics
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The New York Knicks are coming into the 2024-25 season as one of the most hyped-up teams in the NBA. Following a playoff run in which they fell one win short of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks decided that it was time to go all-in, trading away a boatload of picks to bring Mikal Bridges in and then pulling off a blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns at the cost of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
However, the Knicks’ opening night performance against the Boston Celtics gave fans no reason to be confident in their chances of dethroning the reigning champion. They looked very disjointed, as newly-constructed teams tend to be, and this left them helpless in dealing with a Celtics team that was playing with a purpose. Buoyed by a historic three-point shooting night, the Celtics demolished the Knicks, 132-109, to send New York reeling.
For the Knicks to overcome their depth issues, their core players have to step up and be at their best. Suffice to say, they weren’t. But like a true leader, Jalen Brunson shouldered the blame for himself despite ending the night as his team’s leading scorer with 22 points.
“Personally, I got to be better. I just got to be better. We can sit around and dissect everything, whatever. They made a lot of threes. They probably made more than we took. We got to be better on both sides of the ball. I have to be better on both sides of the ball,” Brunson told reporters in the locker room following the Knicks’ opening night loss, per SNY on X (formerly Twitter).
"Personally, I got to be better."
– Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/1u6c89qUMo
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 23, 2024
Some of the Knicks’ issues should be fixed the more time their new-look roster has to jell. Their offensive execution was not very smooth, and they fell into some of the traps the Celtics laid in front of them in plain sight. Moreover, their defensive communication and rotations were far from where they needed to be.
But as the Knicks work out the kinks, Brunson may have to play more similarly to how he did to end the 2023-24 season, carrying the Knicks on his back on every given night — especially considering how shallow the team is.
Can Jalen Brunson, Knicks hold the fort amid the team’s depth issues?
One of the main issues plaguing the Knicks at the moment is their lack of depth. It is certainly troubling that they have to give minutes to three rookies in Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, and Ariel Hukporti, not to mention the need to thrust Jericho Sims into the primary backup role.
Miles McBride and Cameron Payne showed that the Knicks’ bench isn’t completely hapless. But an injury (knock on wood) to one of the Knicks’ core players might spell disaster for the team as they battle for positioning in the Eastern Conference. The good news is that it’s early days for the Knicks, so it’s not like they need to figure things out in an urgent manner, but someone among their unheralded group of role players will have to step up to keep the team afloat.
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