The Indiana Pacers have maximum confidence after taking down the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. They will need all of that confidence if they want to take down a competitive New York Knicks team that thoroughly dominated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.
One of the biggest priorities for the Pacers in this upcoming duel is slowing down Jalen Brunson. The one-time All-Star has been phenomenal in the first round, showing exceptional scoring and playmaking chops to stop both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on his own.
However, things may turn out differently as he’s playing against a coach who is intimately familiar with his game. Rick Carlisle knows how great of a baller Brunson is and isn’t taking the damage he can cause to the Pacers defense lightly.
Rick Carlisle highlights Jalen Brunson’s danger to the Indiana Pacers
The Pacers understand that they have a tough challenge when it comes to taking down the Knicks. Carlisle especially highlights the difficulty in containing Brunson, who has since thrived into a legitimate star after leaving the Dallas Mavericks for the Knicks.
All Knicks’ Geoff Magliocchetti wrote about Carlisle’s thoughts on Brunson ahead of their big clash, and the former Dallas head coach had nothing but good words to say about his former point guard:
“He has forged out a niche in the NBA and really in league history and Knick history, which is very, very unique,” the third-year Pacer boss and brief Knicks reserve said. “I know Jalen well because we had him for his first couple of years when I was in Dallas. He’s a guy that has an extremely strong belief in himself. New York has turned him loose to really go and just take it to whatever extreme he can take it.
The praise is deserved if you look at his performances this season. He finished the six-game series with 35.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 9.0 assists on 42.9% shooting and 30.4% shooting.
The Pacers must pull out all the stops to contain Brunson throughout the series. If they manage to force other players to step up in Brunson’s place, the series will get easier for the Pacers.
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