Feb 3, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is taking issue with one major narrative that surrounded the team’s playoff exit.
Brunson is unhappy with injuries being used as an excuse for the team’s seven-game loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brunson even admitted that hearing that “pissed me off,” because it diminishes his view that the team could have won the series anyway.
“I hate the narrative,” Brunson said on the “Roommates Show” podcast, via John Flanigan of SNY. “Honestly, that kind of pissed me off. Yeah, we didn’t have a full team but I don’t want the narrative being, ‘Oh they’re hurt so let’s give them a pass.’ No, we had chances to win that series and didn’t.
“I just hate the fact that sometimes people give us the fact that we were injured or injuries happen. Like yeah, they’re part of the game but that’s not the reason we lost. We had chances to win, we were winning with those injuries.”
OG Anunoby was limited to just three games in the series, while Mitchell Robinson got hurt in Game 1. Julius Randle was injured during the regular season and never suited up in the playoffs, while Brunson himself got hurt in Game 7. As Brunson noted, the Knicks did get to a Game 7 at home with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line despite all of that.
Critics think the Knicks’ injuries are not an excuse, but the byproduct of coach Tom Thibodeau’s intense style. Brunson would take issue with that angle as well.
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