The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics on Thursday, 118-109. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 39 points on 23 shots. He was the most dangerous player on the floor, and as such, he earned a significant amount of praise for his performance.
Kendrick Perkins was one of the vocal leaders in praising Brunson. During a recent episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Perkins noted how Brunson can be the best player in a series against the Celtics.
“Hell yeah,” Perkins said about Brunson being the best player in a potential series against Boston. “And I’m going to take it a step further. Outside of the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic, Jalen Brunson has the capability of being the best player in any series…Let’s talk about the MVP conversation, he should be top three right now. He’s been the best player in the Eastern Conference.”
When you add the contextual layer that the Celtics had nothing to play for coming into the game and that they’ve been coasting for almost two weeks, Brunson’s performance loses some of its shine. It’s also disingenuous to claim that Brunson has been the best player in the Eastern Conference this season. Jayson Tatum has emerged as one of the most complete players in the NBA. Joel Embiid was having an otherworldly season before being struck by a meniscus injury. And Giannis Antetokounmpo has been dominant for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brunson is an elite talent. He’s proving himself to be the star player the Knicks have been craving. He is not, however, a top-five or top-10 player in the NBA. The aforementioned stars from elsewhere in the East can stake a claim for being among the best of the best.
Perkins’ comments are creating an unsustainable expectation of Brunson heading into the playoffs. With no clear-cut second star next to him, there is likely a limit to how far he can lead his team. Labeling him as arguably the best player in the East is high praise. Given the Knicks’ injury issues, Perkins could be setting Brunson up for failure.
