Knicks Have Seen Jalen Brunson's Efficiency Dip Since Ankle Scare

Seeing what some people are currently saying about Jalen Brunson is exactly why it takes a special kind of person to play and thrive in the Big Apple for the New York Knicks, where the stakes are high every single day and memories are short.

Derek Jeter was the golden boy as a rookie for the 1996 champion Yankees and a major player in four titles across five years. The team was three-outs away from another parade down the Canyon of Heroes in 2001 and lost in yet another Fall Classic to the Marlins in the 2003. That wasn't enough goodwill to hold off his first boos at Yankee Stadium during April of 2004.

“I don’t blame them,” the forever shortstop, who was hitting .197, exclaimed to Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post. “We would have booed ourselves tonight, too. It’s hard to imagine being worse than we were tonight. Put me at the front of that list.”

Mar 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) watches in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Some Nights, Its Been Fair To Critique Brunson

The captain of the Knicks doesn't quite deserve boo birds. Brunson played 80 minutes during a back-to-back in Los Angeles. In the second leg against the Clippers, the three-time All-Star had 28 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field and eight assists. There was, however, overdribbling and being late on some passes.

Not to nitpick, but Brunson could be more consistent with his floor game and efficiency, which has taken a notable dip since twisting his ankle in the middle of January. The crafty point-guards finishing at the rim and midrange games haven’t been as automatic as we’re accustomed to, per Cleaning The Glass. Pre-injury, his finishing at the basket was 65%. Since it’s been 53%. His short mid-range shot was a 50% proposition. It's down to 42% since the two-plus game absence.

It’s noteworthy to mention that Brunson's playmaking has significantly shot up despite his shooting slipping a bit. Prior to the trip to LA, the Villanova product dished off 15 assists in consecutive games, becoming the first Knick to do so since Mark Jackson in 1989.

The blowout win in Denver over the weekend marked the second time in a Knicks uniform that Brunson had more assists than shots. The other was against those same Nuggets last season. He passed out of 70% of direct on-ball picks, the fourth highest percentage during his Knicks tenure. Mike Brown's group feasted in those scenarios to a tune of 1.77 points per possession where Brunson passed.

Some have clamored, with me being one of them, for Brunson to be a more facilitating type of point-guard that defers to Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Just because we’d like him to share more that shouldn’t mean his shooting numbers should simultaneously regress.

When Brunson takes 20 or fewer shots, the Knicks are 24-8. They are 15-14 when the diminutive guard has more than 20 attempts. The group is at their best when Brunson is moving the rock and being efficient at the same time. We know he can do both. It's time to start seeing that consistently.

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