Getty Isaiah Hartenstein celebrates with Obi Toppin of the New York Knicks after dunking the ball during the fourth quarter of the game against the Detroit Pistons.
After an offseason chock full of roster-bolstering moves, the New York Knicks find themselves off to a hot start to the 2022-23 campaign.
Through four games played, the ball club boasts a 3-1 record, good enough for the third seed in the Eastern Conference standings, and is in the midst of an impressive three-game winning streak.
Now, while there are certainly many contributing factors to New York’s early-season successes thus far, perhaps the most noteworthy driving force for them has been their high-priced offseason acquisition, Jalen Brunson.
Signed to a four-year, $104 million deal on the opening day of free agency, the 26-year-old is hoped by many to be the answer to the team’s point guard woes that have plagued the franchise seemingly since the days of Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
Thus far into his tenure with the Knicks, it appears he’s already brought some much-needed stability to both the position as well as the team as a whole and is putting up tremendous averages of 20.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and a steal on 51.7% shooting from the floor and 41.2% shooting from deep.
And while his play to this point is captivating a large chunk of the organization’s fanbase, it has also been turning the heads of some of his peers within New York’s locker room as well.
Following his awe-inspiring performance against the Charlotte Hornets on October 24, fellow free agency acquisition Isaiah Hartenstein took to social media to show some love for Brunson, posting a story to his Instagram account with a picture of the point guard going up for a layup, headlined by the caption “That’s a cold man right there.”
Isaiah Hartenstein to Jalen Brunson on IG: “That’s a cold man right there 😶🔒”
Seeing just north of 40 minutes played on the night, Brunson would finish the contest against Charlotte with a stellar stat-line of 27 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block on 66.7% shooting from the floor and 40% shooting from deep.
Spearheaded by his efforts, the Knicks downed the Hornets in overtime by a final score of 134-131.
Stephen A. Praises Knicks Guard
As previously mentioned, Brunson’s play through his initial four games as a member of the Knicks has been a major positive talking point for a large portion of the fanbase and, just recently, one of the franchise’s most polarizing admirers couldn’t help but heap praise upon the point guard.
During an October 27 episode of First Take, “life-long” Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith applauded the team’s newly signed talent, calling him “a real point guard” and praising him for “doing an exceptional job” leading New York.
“I want to give major props to Leon Rose and [William Wesley] and everybody else for Jalen Brunson,” Smith said. “I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing from Jalen Brunson… It’s a real point guard on the floor when Derrick Rose is not on there… He’s doing an exceptional job thus far. I’m very, very happy.”
Smith would also state that despite his excitement for and approval of Jalen Brunson now serving as New York’s starting point guard, he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the ball club moving forward, stating that though their 3-1 record is an enjoying sight to see, they have had the luxury of a rather easy schedule.
Knicks Big Calls Out Greek Freak
Heading into New York’s October 28 matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson discussed the concept of playing against superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, stating such matchups motivate him to be at his best.
“Yeah, it is more motivating. I can make my mark,” Robinson said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, bro. This is what it is. This is what I’m supposed to do.’”
Following these rather kind remarks, the 24-year-old would go on to say that he has a sound idea of how to contain the Bucks forward whilst on defense, going as far as to call out his semi-simplistic offensive attack.
“He’s running and dunking and driving in the gaps. That’s really it. You got to fill gaps, man,” Robinson said. “He’s got long legs, long arms. You got to make sure he can’t get nowhere.”
Robinson and Antetokounmpo have squared off against one another on nine separate occasions, with the Giannis owning the winning record of 6-3 in said contests.