Jalen Brunson already passes Carmelo Anthony in Knicks playoff scoring

09/05/2024 18:08

Jalen Brunson is on a roll. Even on days where he looks like he’s in for a bad night, he somehow finds a way to will the New York Knicks to victory in the 2024 NBA playoffs. On Wednesday night, in Game 2 of their second-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Brunson went off to a slow start, scoring five points in the first half as he was absent for the entirety of the second quarter after dealing with a right foot injury. But he shook off the pain and scored 24 second-half points as he led the Knicks to a 130-121 victory.

Brunson’s 29 point-night amid an injury scare was already admirable enough as it is. But when compared to his previous efforts, his Game 2 pales in comparison, even though he’s quickly becoming a player whose mere touch of the basketball makes the opposing defense panic. Entering Game 2, the Knicks star guard had scored 40 or more points in four consecutive outings, becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to do so.

Now, Jalen Brunson’s scoring binge in this year’s playoffs is allowing him to quickly climb the ranks of the greatest Knicks players of all time. In fact, Brunson has now scored more points for the Knicks in the playoffs than Carmelo Anthony did, as pointed out by ClutchPoints Twitter (X). With 591 points, Brunson now has two more playoff points for the Knicks than Anthony, even though Brunson isn’t even done with his second season with the franchise.

Now, games played is a better barometer of how impressive their scoring during their respective playoff careers for the Knicks actually is. Anthony, even though he spent six and a half seasons with the Knicks, only played in 21 playoff games. This was the case as New York failed to qualify for the postseason in the final four years of his stay with the team.

Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson is already up to 19 career playoff games for the Knicks, and he’s guaranteed to play in at least four more. He is averaging 31.1 points across that many games, allowing him to already surpass Carmelo Anthony on the all-time Knicks playoffs scoring ladder, and in this postseason alone, he has put up an average of 35.6 per night — numbers that scream MVP.

Jalen Brunson to the moon

When the Knicks acquired Jalen Brunson in 2022, they were confident that they acquired a stellar up-and-coming player who recently emerged as the playoffs’ main breakout star. But only a few could have foreseen how big of a star Brunson would turn into, and in only two seasons as well.

Brunson has been a monster thus far in the playoffs, and he’s dispelling the notion that the Knicks, or any other team for that matter, can’t win a championship with him as the number one option. The 27-year old star is unstoppable, as his tight handles and precise footwork, not to mention his elite ability to change speeds, allows him to maximize his elite touch from all three scoring levels.

At present, Brunson is currently in 16th place on the all-time Knicks playoff scoring list. With the Knicks guaranteed to play at least four more games in the playoffs, Brunson could be all the way in 12th place if he averages 35.6 points (his current scoring average in the 2024 NBA playoffs) during those contests. If the Knicks can make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, he could be in the top-10 before the playoffs end. If that doesn’t scream greatness, nothing will.

Carmelo Anthony’s stint with the Knicks — a disappointment?

The Knicks traded for Carmelo Anthony in 2011 as they looked to bolster their roster that was built around Amar’e Stoudemire. However, Stoudemire was already on the verge of physically breaking down in the 2011 playoffs. Despite putting up stellar numbers in the regular season, Stoudemire struggled immensely in the playoffs as the Knicks were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

By 2012, Anthony did not have much in the way of superstar-level help, although the Knicks managed to unearth Jeremy Lin and the addition of Tyson Chandler propped up the team’s defense. Alas, the Knicks ran into the eventual champion Miami Heat, a hungry team led by a resurgent LeBron James who was raring to avenge his defeat in the 2011 NBA Finals, and lost in five games in the first round.

Carmelo Anthony’s third go-round in the postseason was his best shot at competing in a Knicks uniform. The roster the Knicks put together was a bit old, but they had quality players at every position, negating the effect of Amar’e Stoudemire’s steep decline. New York focused on a spread-out offense, with gunners such as JR Smith, Steve Novak, and Chris Copeland thriving, and Anthony made the most of the spacing the team had en route to a career year.

The team also had plenty of leadership, with Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, and Pablo Prigioni all being steadying presences in the Knicks locker room. They won 54 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, running into the Indiana Pacers in the process.

Knicks fans all know what happened next; in a must-win Game 6, Roy Hibbert swatted a dunk attempt from Anthony and turned momentum towards the Pacers’ favor. Just like that, New York’s playoff run came to an end, they wouldn’t return to the postseason until 2021.

The Knicks front office made plenty of errors following that fateful 2013 playoff run that it took years for them to recover. Phil Jackson’s stint as the team’s president of basketball operations still make fans wake up with cold sweat.

The decision to trade for Andrea Bargnani quickly backfired, the team’s decision to acquire Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose in the same offseason didn’t build the “superteam” the Knicks had envisioned, and trading Kristaps Porzingis, their best draft pick in a while, sat as well as one would think with a fanbase that was begging for a chance to support a winning team.

Carmelo Anthony had a bit of a part to play in the way the Knicks failed to emerge as a championship contender, or even a consistent playoff team, during his six and a half-year stint in the Big Apple. But the team failed him on an even greater scale as they seemed to choose the worst decision at every stop before the team traded him away in 2017.

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