“I got nothing to say.” Jalen Brunson was overtaken with emotion after tonights 109-105 victory against the Garden giving the Knicks 9 straight wins. The night Brunson was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, he carried the Knicks with a 40 point performance. Being at the game, the atmosphere was different. It felt like a playoff game even without three of our core 8 players. (Not considering Mitch here). The shot making ability of Brunson is at the top of the league right now. I have never seen the footwork on an undersized point guard like Brunson. Brunson was getting hounded all night and did not get a lot of calls, including a horrible missed call where he got clocked in the face and turned the ball over. He responded by coming down the court and getting a monumental And-1. He is a superstar and hearing the Garden crowd chant “MVP” during Brunson’s free throws show the passion and love this city has for the players that work tirelessly for them. Words cannot describe the feeling of being in the Worlds Most Famous Arena during a game like tonight. Knicks Fever is infectious and living in Manhattan, you truly feel it.
Starting the game, Donte DiVincenzo continued his hot streak from the other night scoring 13 points in the first quarter. Donte has been one of, if not the best, free agent signing this offseason of the entire league. DiVo, as the great Clyde Frazier calls him, is averaging three made threes a game, shooting 42%. But Donte has filled the void left by the injuries of Julius Randle and OG Anunoby. Duece McBride has been unreal off the bench since the trade with the Raptors. Today Deuce provided a much needed spark in the second half, where he scored 14 consecutive points for the Knicks with Brunson on the bench. McBride led the team in +/- tonight and was a major factor of the comeback.
Let’s talk about the bigs tonight. Isiah Hartenstein is a DOG. Will Hardy showed IHart love after the Knicks beat the Jazz on Tuesday and he does all the dirty work needed on both ends on the floor. IHart had 12 points, 19 rebounds, and 6 assists tonight including 8 offensive rebounds. Hartenstein has made himself a lot of money since Mitchell Robinson got hurt. He has emerged as one of the best true centers in the NBA. It has been so fun to watch IHart become a star of his own, from the first game he played in a Knicks jersey to now, fans including myself have done a complete 180 on the Heart and soul of this team.
Precious has been molded into a beast just like IHart. Seen as a throw-in in the OG trade, he has been a beast this past week for the Knicks. Tonight Precious had 12 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks including huge defensive stops down the stretch. The New Yorker has beaten the CTE allegations and is a legitimate force for the Knicks. Starting at Power Forward the past three games, Achiuwa has been an absolute menace on the court. He will be a major factor the second half of the season for the Knicks. As for Josh Hart, a flip turned after Knicks Twitter was calling for his head. Although I haven’t seen him hit a three pointer since 2023, Hart has brought his motor and energy back since Randle and OG have been hurt. IHart, Precious, and Josh Hart out rebounded the entire Pacers roster tonight 47-44!! That is all hustle and determination on both ends of the floor by them.
Hearing the call of Mike Breen saying “Jalen Brunson born to play basketball” and then seeing Brunson get emotional in the post game interview, shows how the true diehards feel right now. I may be caught up in the moment but I really can’t remember one of my teams being this good and this watchable ever. The only teams I can think of that rival the Knicks is the Mets and Rangers teams that lost in their respected Championships. But no one encapsulates an entire city like the Knicks. I am so excited to see how the rest of the season goes and am so proud of the boys tonight.
Now let’s talk All-Star reserves. There are two glaring issues with the All-Star reserves in my opinion. In the West, the fact that Domantas Sabonis is not an All-Star this year, and Karl-Anthony Towns is, is an absolute joke. I don’t understand why they change when team success matters depending on the year but Sabonis is averaging a near triple double this season with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists shooting 62% from the field. Sabonis has been unstoppable this year and has been far and away the best player on the Kings. KAT is having a great year, and is probably the best shooting big man of all time but they gave Ant the nod to be an All-Star. I would give it to a team’s best player, who is closing in on 28 straight double-doubles, a Kings franchise record, over a player who plays second fiddle. If KAT didn’t score 60 would he be an all-star? I am not sure if he makes the cut. I would’ve even like to see Alpren Sengun over Towns. I completely agree with Mike Brown defending his guys not making the ASG. Also, anyone saying Curry did not deserve to make it is completely delusional.
In the East, I am so happy that Julius Randle made the All-Star game. He truly deserves it and has been a top 20 player this year. You can tell the true Knicks fans by how they view Julius Randle. What I am shocked about is how disrespected Trae Young is by the entire league. This dude is averaging 27 points and 11 assists, which is 10th and 2nd in the league. The Trae disrespect has gotten way to out of hand. I think Trae deserved to start and has a way better case than Dame. I think the East benched is justified but why does a guy like Jaylen Brown make the team. The Celtics are the one seed and you can argue that Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis have been just as if not more important to the success for the C’s than Brown. Brown has mediocre stats for an All-Star. I also think Trae deserves it over Maxey and Paolo, although I am happy they are both All-Stars. The Trae Young disrespect hopefully ends now because he truly is one of the best players in the league.
JakesTakes 
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