Are Knicks More Dangerous Without Jalen Brunson?

“Deuce” is a frisky perimeter defender and contributes to a lot that does not reflected on the stat sheet. But to say, this Knicks team is “more dangerous” without their MVP-caliber point guard is a questionable statement from the Heat guard.

Knicks' Ball Movement Has Improved

While McBride is a better defender than Brunson, the idea that the ball only moves without Brunson on the floor could not be farther from the truth. The Knicks are currently 11th in the NBA in assists per game, while also averaging 306.2 passes per game which ranks in the top five in the league. If Brunson was a ball stopper and a go-to isolation player, this would not be the case. The overall growth of Brunson moving off the ball has been an eye opener, which was not the case last season.

Last season under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, Brunson was in the higher percentile for isolation scoring, whereas this season he is currently not in the top 10. Under Mike Brown, the ball is moving around the court nonstop, players are moving off the ball, and everyone has a chance to have a scoring outburst. If these comments were made last season, it could be argued Mitchell is telling the truth, but this year, not so much.

Exciting Matchup Coming Between Heat and Knicks

The battle between the Heat’s rapid fire offense that leads the league in pace against a lights-out shooting Knicks offense that is third in offensive rating should be an interesting one to say the least.

Expect the Knicks offense to remain exciting with tremendous ball movement and shooting the three ball. Also expect the Knicks defense to be tested against a superb Heat team, who will be without one of their best players in All-Star center Bam Adebayo.

Whether McBride, Jordan Clarkson or Tyler Kolek gets the start for the injured Brunson, one thing will remain the same, the team will remain dangerous, but not as dangerous if they had their MVP-caliber point guard at the helm.