Rick Carlisle Shares Thoughts on Ex-Protege, Knicks Star Jalen Brunson
When Rick Carlisle left Jalen Brunson, the latter was but a learner. Now, he's the master of the New York Knicks playoff run ... which makes him, of course, a master of evil in the eyes of the Indiana Pacers.
Brunson is the talk and toast of the basketball world with the opening round of the NBA Playoffs nearly wrapped up, as the Knicks point guard guided Manhattan to a six-game triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers. The reward is a second round clash with Rick Carlisle's Pacers, which begins on Monday night at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
There is no shortage of headlines for the revival of the turn-of-the-century rivalry, but a buried subplot is the reunion between Brunson and Carlisle, who collaborated in Dallas during the former's first three NBA seasons. Carlisle, now the head coach of Indiana, lauded his former protege in an interview with Dan Patrick earlier this week.
"He has forged out a niche in the NBA and really in league history and Knick history, which is very, very unique," the third-year Pacer boss and brief Knicks reserve said. "I know Jalen well because we had him for his first couple of years when I was in Dallas. He's a guy that has an extremely strong belief in himself. New York has turned him loose to really go and just take it to whatever extreme he can take it.
"It's been amazing to watch. I'm very happy for him, very proud of him, and very much not looking forward to coaching against him."
Carlisle went on to remark that Brunson had hints of Steve Nash, James Harden, and Damian Lillard in his game, but praised the point guard for "doing something that is very uniquely him."
Brunson launched himself into rarefied air in both the Knicks and Association realms during the six-game win over the 76ers, notably capping the series off with at least 39 points in each of the final four games, including a franchise-record 47 in the Game 4 triumph at Wells Fargo Center last weekend.
Carlisle learned how dangerous Brunson can be the hard way: Brunson scored 40 points in the Knicks' lone win against the Pacers this season, helping New York erase a 15-point deficit in a 109-105 triumph at MSG on Feb. 1. He was one of the few who publicly predicted Brunson's rise to metropolitan glory, notably awed when the Knicks and Pacers did battle in a preseason game in October 2022.
“Jalen Brunson’s one of my favorite guys that I ever coached in however many years of coaching. Going back to my assistant days, it’s been over 30 years, and he’s just very, very special,” Carlisle foretold, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “He’s a winning player that would fit with any team at any level. He figures it out. He’ll be great here. He’ll be great."
“He not only has unique abilities as a player but really unique qualities as a high-character person, as a leader. He just does everything the right way.”
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks