BKlutch wrote:How Jalen Brunson’s constant movement is a staple for the Knicks offense
Fred Katz
Apr 10, 2024...
Brunson credits his concentration for these types of reads. He’s so locked into his defender, into Hartenstein, that he can detect when someone loses him, no matter how subtle.
“When it’s time to win, you got no other choice,” he said.
But the choices Brunson and the Knicks have made, especially over the past few months, have stood out — and not just because of these extra-effort plays that generate open looks against even the best defenders. Brunson has never relied this much on moving without the ball. And why it’s occurring now is no coincidence.
There is a clear marker: Jan. 29. That was the first time the Knicks played after Julius Randle suffered the dislocated shoulder that would eventually end his season. It was then that Brunson’s style fundamentally changed.
With Randle gone, defenses could key in on Brunson with a gusto they hadn’t before. Getting open would not be as easy as it once was for the 27-year-old.
So when defenses trap Brunson, New York head coach Tom Thibodeau encourages him to give up the basketball quickly and then free himself without the rock. Since the Randle injury, the Knicks have run him around more off-ball screens than ever. Brunson uses dribble handoffs nearly twice as often.
“It started working,” Brunson said. “And then we said, ‘F— it, let’s keep doing it.’ ”
They haven’t stopped...
https://theathletic.com/5404756/2024/04/10/jalen-brunson-movement-knicks/
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