Rick Carlisle is aware of Jalen Brunson in addition to any opposing coach. The Pacers head coach — and former Dallas Mavericks sideline chief — coached Brunson throughout his early NBA years, and forward of Sport 2 of the Jap Convention Finals, he shared what he’s realized watching the Knicks’ All-Star guard develop.
“Well is this his fourth year or third year here? This is his 3rd? Well each year, he’s raised the bar of what he’s been doing,” Carlisle mentioned pregame on Friday. “He’s the kinda guy that covets the opportunity to lead. He wants the responsibility of winning and losing, and he’s extremely durable. I know he missed some time this year, but he had played hurt when he was with us, and you always knew you were going to get his best possible effort and whatever he could put out there.”
Dallas famously lowballed Brunson when he grew to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. That miscalculation opened the door for New York to signal him to a four-year, $104 million deal. The Knicks doubled down this previous summer season, signing Brunson to a $156 million extension and naming him the thirty sixth crew captain in franchise historical past.
The payoff? Two 50-win seasons, an All-Star starter nod, and the crew’s first journey to the convention finals in 24 years.
“He’s obviously taken it to exponential levels here in one of the big stages in all of professional sports,” mentioned Carlisle. “So knowing about his determination and how much he’s driven by doubters, it’s not surprising what he’s done from that standpoint. But I don’t know that many people would have predicted all this.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau provided related reward.
“It’s just who he is. The way he prepares himself, it sets the tone for our team,” Thibodeau mentioned pregame. “The perfect management you could have are the issues that you simply do.
“Oftentimes it’s a misconception when people think, a loud person is the leader. That’s oftentimes not the case. On every team the leaders are the guys who do the right things each and every day.”
Carlisle Pushes Again on Put on-Down Narrative
Regardless of the Pacers erasing a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit in Sport 1, Carlisle refuted the concept that Indiana’s tempo was the decisive issue within the comeback.
“We were behind and we were trapping, so I don’t know if pace had anything to do with it,” he mentioned. “Look we try to play a style that’s good for us, and we try to play it as well as we can.”
Requested what message sparked the rally, Carlisle couldn’t recall specifics.
“We needed to get some fresh bodies in the game. I think around that time was when [Ben] Sheppard went into the game. We may have sent one or two more guys,” he mentioned. “We had foul trouble. Both teams had foul trouble. And just try to play the whole 48 minutes and play it out and do everything we can to make it hard on them and to get some points. It worked out, but it’s over.”
Thibs on Starters’ Struggles: “You Look at Everything”
The Knicks’ beginning 5 — Brunson, Karl-Anthony Cities, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — owns a minus-68 web ranking this postseason. Thibodeau pushed again on placing an excessive amount of weight into that quantity.
“It’s hard to just look at it that way because there’s a lot of mixing and matching,” he mentioned. “So sometimes they’re with the second unit as well. So you look at everything. And then you have to also look at what happens when you put your second unit in.”
No Time for Sulking
Regardless of the heartbreak of Sport 1’s collapse, Thibodeau mentioned his course of between video games hasn’t modified.
“All you do is go through each game, you study it, you move on, get ready for the next game and that’s where the focus is,” he mentioned. “After each game, whether you win or lose, you have to re-set and have to be ready for the task at hand, which is your next game. So it’s how you respond to the next challenge.”
