"What if it’s Jalen Brunson?” – Stephen A. Smith wants Knicks' star guard to make Kevin Durant bleed over his trade decision
Jalen Brunson has become a true star in New York City. The 6-foot-1 guard joined the Knicks last summer and has had a fantastic season so far. However, the true test of his skills lies ahead.
The Knicks, who finished the season as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, will square off against the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. It will be a tough matchup, but Stephen A. Smith wonders if Brunson could carry his team into the second round and even deeper into the postseason.
Smith is a lifelong Knicks fan and there is no doubt that he'd love to see his team have a deep playoff run. However, their road to the NBA Finals will be extremely tough, possibly the toughest road in the league this season.
Stephen A. Smith wonders how far the New York Knicks could go with Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson is one of the most improved NBA players of the 2022-23 season. He averaged 16.3 points per game with the Dallas Mavericks last year, but he increased his scoring average to 24.0 points with the New York Knicks.
The 26-year-old guard is arguably the best Knicks player and is a big reason why they won 47 games in the regular season. Compared to last season, the Knicks won 10 more games and could be a dark horse to make the conference finals.
Imagine…if Jalen Brunson is THAT guy in these playoffs…just imagine! https://t.co/pBcvmrP1Nn
Stephen A. Smith has wondered what it would look like to see the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and go deeper into the playoffs. He's wondering if the star guard could take a leap and have a breakout postseason performance.
"What if it's Jalen Brunson? What if Jalen Brunson beats the Cleveland Cavaliers?" the sports analyst said in his latest video. "What if Jalen Brunson and the Knicks ... go to the second round and beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks?"
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Smith even wondered what it would be like to have the Knicks go to the NBA Finals by beating the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers.
According to the analyst, this would be a big story since Brunson used to be a bench player in Dallas, yet they refused to pay him and he became a true leader for the Knicks.
Smith doesn't like that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chose the Brooklyn Nets over his favorite team. Due to this, he wants Brunson to have a deep playoff run and show them what they missed out on.
"If Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had chosen the Garden over Brooklyn, they'd both be billionaires," Smith added. "They made the wrong choice. Jalen Brunson didn't do that."
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The Knicks will play Game 1 of their series against the Cavaliers on Sunday in Cleveland. The game will tip off at 6 PM Eastern Time.