Knicks Must Lean Into 76ers' Jalen Brunson Frustrations for Game 2

The Knicks played a near-perfect game in their 137-98 throttling of the Philadelphia Sixers in game one. Many excused the 76ers no-show due to playing a highly contested game seven in Boston just two nights prior. After the game Sixers star Joel Embiid tried passing the blame onto the officiating.

"It did? I don't know, you've got to ask Jalen Brunson that," Embiid said about the Sixers drawing fouls in the first half working in their favor. "I don't think I got to the free throw line as much as I wanted."

The irony is that despite losing the game by 39-points, Philadelphia took 34 free throws while the Knicks got to the charity stripe only 17 times – with four of those attempts coming from Mitchell Robinson, who was purposely put there.

The whole notion that Jalen Brunson, who got to the line eight times compared to Embiid's nine, is some free throw merchant is more fiction than fact.

"Foul-baiting" is weak excuse for Knicks' offensive dominance

In these playoffs, Brunson ranks 18th in free-throws per game and 20th in fouls drawn per game. For further context, the captain has attempted 42 free-throws in 240 playoff minutes while Embiid has flopped his way to the line 46 times in 171 minutes. Coach Mike Brown is well aware of the whistle Philadelphia is seeking.

“Maxey and Embiid are really really good at drawing fouls," Brown told the media Tuesday. "You hope that the referee sees that at times, we're not initiating the contact, but we can't put ourselves in the position to put the whistle on the referees hands.”

If anything the Sixers should be terrified about the ease Brunson had in getting his shots. En route to a game-high 35 points on 18 shots, the generously listed six-foot-two guard got wherever he wanted with very little resistance thanks to picking apart the drop coverage Philadelphia mostly deployed.

The Knicks' offense is humming with less Brunson

Since Game three against Atlanta, the way New York is playing on offense is how Brown envisioned this group to look from day one. With the offense running more through Karl-Anthony Towns, Brunson has looked much more decisive with the lessened burden.

Over the last four games, Towns is averaging 8 assists a night and he's recorded at least six dimes in each game after hitting that number just seven times during the regular season. To put his evolution into perspective, Towns never dished out more than five assists in his prior 53 career playoff games. His assist rate during this postseason run is up to 27.4%.

The Knicks are at their best when they're not so reliant on Brunson to carry the load offensively. His on ball percentage during these first seven playoff games is 43.7%. That number was 48.5% last spring and 50.1% the spring before that. Meanwhile, in a new wrinkle Brunson is setting 12 off-ball screens per 100 possessions in the playoffs, which is up from the 5.4 number during the regular season.

The fact the 76ers are so worried about his fouls, even when he's playing more off ball than before, is great news for New York. It keeps the Sixers focused on the wrong things, giving them a distraction from realizing the bigger offensive shift and how limiting Towns should be getting the bulk of their attention.

Meanwhile, the Knicks can continue the hunting of Embiid, whose lack of mobility makes him a liability in the pick-and-roll. The former MVP was the screen defender during 27 on-ball picks Monday night, with the Knicks getting 1.62 points per direct action, which would be the fifth-worst mark of his career in a game where he defended at least 25 on-ball picks, per the All-NBA podcast.

The Knicks won't shoot 63% from the field and 51% from three all series. But if Brunson can continue to get under Philly's skin, that should help keep them preoccupied with a rather minor issue while the rest of the offense dissects them at the same time.

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