Jalen Brunson's struggles so far against the 76ers can be taken one of two ways.
On one hand, Brunson not looking like his All-Star self hasn't prevented the Knicks from taking a 2-0 series lead. On the other, the Knicks will almost certainly need him to find his rhythm to make it out of the first round and go on a deep run without Julius Randle.
It would be one thing if Brunson had a history of struggling in the playoffs, but he played a big role in the Mavericks making the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and lead the Knicks to the second round in 2023. He averaged 23.9 points on .470/.335/.848 shooting splits over those runs.
Is it as simple as Brunson having a couple of bad games or is there something in particular the 76ers are doing?
Let's take a closer look.
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Jalen Brunson stats vs. 76ers
Brunson was one of the best scorers in the NBA this season. He's still leading the Knicks in scoring against the 76ers, but he's gone from averaging 28.7 points per game to 23.0. He's also struggled with efficiency, shooting just 29.1 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
Here's how Brunson's stats through two games of the 2024 NBA Playoffs compare to the regular season:
| Stat | Regular season | 2024 NBA Playoffs |
| PPG | 28.7 | 23.0 |
| APG | 6.7 | 6.5 |
| RPG | 3.6 | 7.5 |
| FG% | .479 | .291 |
| 3PT% | .401 | .167 |
| FT% | .847 | .800 |
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How 76ers have slowed down Jalen Brunson
The 76ers are doing a few things against Brunson. The first is they're defending him with size.
The players who have defended Brunson the most through two games are Kelly Oubre Jr., a 6-7 wing with a 7-2 wingspan, and Nicolas Batum, a 6-8 wing with a 7-1 wingspan. Brunson, who is 6-2, hasn't been nearly as aggressive against them as he has when facing the 6-2 Tyrese Maxey and 6-foot Kyle Lowry.
According to the matchup data, Brunson has attempted 18 shots in the nearly 17 combined minutes he's been defended by Oubre and Batum. In the nine minutes he's been defended by Maxey and Lowry, he's attempted 21 shots.
Brunson has also been aggressive looking for his shot against Tobias Harris, though he's missed all seven of his field goal attempts while being defended by the 6-8 forward.
| Defender | Minutes | Points | FGM-FGA |
| Kelly Oubre Jr. | 10:08 | 11 | 4-10 |
| Nicolas Batum | 6:30 | 8 | 4-8 |
| Tyrese Maxey | 5:09 | 7 | 2-11 |
| Kyle Lowry | 3:50 | 13 | 5-10 |
| Tobias Harris | 2:58 | 2 | 0-7 |
| Joel Embiid | 2:10 | 10 | 4-14 |
Both Oubre and Batum are fighting around screens and using their length well to bother Brunson. (Even Brunson has given them credit for the way they've defended him.) Oubre and Batum have also received a good amount of help. Philly hasn't been shy about helping off Knicks forward Josh Hart, who shot 31.0 percent from 3-point range during the regular season.
Here's a good example of Lowry sagging way off Hart to prevent Brunson from getting a straight-line drive to the basket, resulting in a missed layup:
There have even been times when the 76ers have helped off Donte DiVincenzo, who made the third-most 3s in the league this season, to load up on Brunson. Philly is clearly focused on making his life as difficult as possible.
Something else the 76ers have done a nice job with is contesting Brunson from behind without fouling.
Maxey has blocked Brunson not once...
...but twice so far in the series on rearview contests.
Lowry and Oubre have affected shots in a similar fashion, so it's almost certainly a point of emphasis for Philly.
It helps, of course, that the 76ers have one of the best rim protectors staring down Brunson in those situations in Joel Embiid. Of the 55 field goals Brunson has attempted so far in the series, only six have come in the restricted area. The majority of his attempts have come from floater range and midrange, where he's a combined 10-for-37.
Brunson was a killer from those spots in the regular season. He's had some looks that usually drop for him, but between having a defender glued to his hip and Embiid anchoring the paint, he hasn't had much room to work with.
This shouldn't come as a huge surprise, as the 76ers defended at a top-five level in the regular season with Embiid on the court. Especially with Randle out, the Knicks lack creators who can take some of the playmaking burden off Brunson's shoulders, allowing the 76ers to direct most of their attention to him.
It'll be interesting to see if Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau can cook up some adjustments in Game 3 to get Brunson rolling again. The team is going to need him to get back to his All-Star ways at some point if it wants to go on a deep playoff run.
