Jalen Brunson is the leader of the Knicks, but could he be the reason for their downfall?
It's a question worthy of asking through four games of the Eastern Conference Finals.
New York trails 3-1 in the series and their only win came in a game where Brunson struggled and was absent for a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter.
The point guard had five fouls and was forced to watch from the sideline as Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 20 of his 24 points in the quarter.
After the win, Pacers' head coach Rick Carlisle was asked why the Pacers blew a 20-point lead. His response seemed to take a subtle jab at Brunson.
"Well they had a lot of their better defenders in the game in the second half," Carlisle said. "That makes it harder."
Indiana's coach isn't wrong. On a team with elite defenders like Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, Brunson is the liability that can be targeted. The Pacers look to bring him to their best offensive players and expose his small frame.
Along with defense, numbers show that Brunson doesn't gel with some of his teammates quite as well as you'd expect.
According to PBP Stats, the Knicks have a net rating of -0.59 with Brunson on the floor compared to a 3.48 net rating with him on the bench.
Opposing teams are shooting 37% from three-point range with Brunson playing compared to 23% when he's off the floor. It's more of the same from inside the arc, with teams shooting 54% compared to 48% when Brunson isn't a defender to pick on.
It's hard to fathom that a player who averages over 25 points and 7 assists a game as the problem, but it's worth investigating.
.@paulpierce34: The Knicks got a huge dilemma right now...
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) May 26, 2025
"If you look at Game 1 when they made the run, Brunson was on the bench. Game 3, Brunson was on the bench when they came back... What do you do now moving forward with Brunson's minutes?" pic.twitter.com/VvJVn9apfv
Knicks' head coach Tom Thibodeau has made a few lineup switches this postseason, like benching Josh Hart or giving Landry Shamet minutes. Would he be willing to keep Brunson off the floor in moments to improve his defense?
It's unlikely, but with New York's season on the line anything is possible.
MORE: Pacers fans diss Knicks' Jalen Brunson with ruthless nickname