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The New York Knicks are on a seven game win streak after dispatching the Indiana Pacers, and they find themselves in firm control of the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
If that holds through the remainder of the year, a big if, then the Knicks would be able to avoid the play-in tournament, something that would be a major success for the squad.
A big part of the success has been the play of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, and they came up big in the win over the Pacers. After the game, Knicks color commentator and former NBA player Wally Szczerbiak praised Brunson and Randle while also tearing down Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in the process.
Haliburton Catches Flak
Brunson and Randle are making a case for themselves for the All-Star team, and if the Knicks keep on streaking they could very well find themselves representing New York there.
Szczerbiak thinks the two players have a better case than Haliburton, and he said as much in his post-game analysis.
“Mister supposed wannabe fake All-Star with a big miss,” he said as he continued his recap of the game. “Last chance, down three, for the wannabe All-Star, we’ll keep it that way. He’s a very good player, he’s not going to make the All-Star team. Guys like Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson will make it over Tyrese Haliburton, and tonight we saw why.”
Haliburton is averaging 19.5 points per game to go along with 10.7 assists on the season, so he certainly has a case for the All-Star team this season, especially if the Pacers are able to hang around in the playoff picture as a .500 team.
Brunson has never made an All-Star team in his career, but he’s proving he’s deserving of one as he leads the Knicks on this win streak. The Knicks guard is averaging a career-best 20.8 ppg along with 6.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds. His numbers are roughly on par with Haliburton’s barring assists, but Brunson takes the edge with a better team record.
Either one of them could end up being All-Stars, and it’ll likely come down to the wire unless the Knicks keep on winning while the Pacers slide.
Randle Has a Good Chance
While Brunson and Haliburton fight for their first All-Star nod, Knicks star Julius Randle has a shot at making his second team.
After being wildly inconsistent last season, Randle appears to have found his groove again and it’s showing in the stat sheet. He’s shooting 45.5 percent from the floor this season, almost the exact number (45.6) he turned out in his All-Star season from 2021.
His scoring has seen an uptick from last year as well as he’s averaging 22.5 ppg from 20.1. A lot of this could have to do with Brunson being the lead playmaker for the team now, and that was something the Knicks had to have expected when they signed him.
One thing that could be worked on his three-point percentage as he’s hitting just 33.3 percent of his shots from deep. That’s a higher number than last year’s 30.8, but he’s also shooting 7.1 threes a game as compared to 5.4. Shooting that many threes with that type of inefficiency isn’t a recipe for success, but it hasn’t burned them yet.
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