INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Brunson knows the reality.
Opponents constantly hunt him on the defensive end. For as talented of a scorer he is, his lack of size and quickness make him a weak defender.
The Pacers have tried to take advantage, relentlessly putting him in actions in order to attack him. And entering Tuesday’s Game 4, Brunson’s 127 individual defensive rating (how many points are allowed per 100 possessions while he’s on the court) was the worst on the Knicks.
With Brunson as the primary defender, the Pacers shot 19-for-32 from the field (59.4 percent), highest among all Knicks players who defended more than five shots.
One thing that Brunson can’t be criticized for defensively is his effort or willingness to put his body on the line.
His seven charges drawn were most among all players in the postseason entering Tuesday.
“Obviously when teams hunt me, it is what it is,” Brunson said on Monday. “Obviously I’m gonna give my effort, give everything I have. I’ve just gotta be smart and not foul, and I think if I just keep my body in the right position and contest shots, and foul or not foul or not receive the foul, I’ll put my team in a better position to win.”
Getting targeted with such frequency on defense has also resulted in him getting into foul trouble.
He sat much of the fourth quarter of the Game 3 win, when the Knicks mounted their fierce comeback.
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And the Knicks defense during that stretch — with Brunson on the bench — was stifling.
Is there something that can be taken from those minutes and repeated when Brunson is on the floor?
“I think the most consistent part was how we were flying around,” Brunson said. “Even if breakdowns happened, we recovered back, we flew around, we got back to bodies, back to matching up. It may have led to a couple of offensive rebounds, but the way we were flying around, it was definitely key to making things more difficult for them.”