Knicks star Jalen Brunson is ignoring the pressure to contend
After adding OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks over the past few months , the New York Knicks are seen as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. Jalen Brunson has been at the forefront of New York's rise toward relevancy. He's arguably the team's most important free-agent signing of the past decade.
With that in mind, it makes sense that Brunson is shouldering a significant amount of pressure. The Knicks fan base is hungry for success after decades of struggle. During Thursday's episode of "The Roommates" podcast with Brunson and Josh Hart, the All-Star guard revealed that there isn't any pressure, just high stakes.
“There’s no pressure for me, personally but I definitely feel the energy no matter where you are in New York,” Brunson said. “As soon as you’re in the Garden you feel the energy. Go into a restaurant and someone sees you and gets excited...when it comes to pressure, I mean there are high stakes but for me it’s not pressure because we worked really hard for situations like this.”
Brunson has played in 58 games this season, averaging 27.2 points, 6.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 47.8% from the field and 41.0% from three-point range. His performances have helped the Knicks climb to fourth in the Eastern Conference.
New York has lost six of its last 10 games and is dealing with a string of injury issues. The team is under pressure to remain in the top six of the East, which would secure automatic qualification for the postseason. Avoiding the play-in tournament would be a big step for Tom Thibodeau's team.
When healthy, Brunson will have an elite team around him. Yet, he will continue to be the star talent, which means, whether he feels it or not, he will have the expectations of a fanbase on his shoulders. Brunson came to New York to help them win. He's achieving that goal.
The Knicks roster is ready to contend. This season may have a steep learning curve, but the squad is going to be a tough matchup in the playoffs. And next season, with another year of postseason basketball under their belt, we will see what Brunson and this Knicks team are truly capable of.
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