Jalen Brunson made his New York Knicks stay late on a holiday.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Brunson called for and led a players-only meeting after the Knicks’ latest letdown on Monday night. The severely-shorthanded Dallas Mavericks spoiled the Knicks’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day showcase at Madison Square Garden with a 114-97 decision.
“Brunson’s message to teammates after their ninth loss in 11 games, according to multiple sources, was that the Knicks needed to find answers for their poor play in January among themselves, rather than look to the coaching staff for solutions,” Shelburne’s report reads in part. “He was concerned enough about the situation to call the meeting and make clear to his teammates that the answers for their recent struggles were to be found within the walls of the locker room.”
This season has widely been viewed as the Knicks’ most realistic chance at a championship in quite some time. The team is fresh off its first conference finals showing in two decades and drew major attention for removing head coach Tom Thibodeau in favor of Mike Brown. They fulfilled expectations to the tune of a 24-9 start that included a victory in the NBA Cup in-season tournament.
But a no-show against Brunson’s original NBA employers from North Texas is the newest addition to the Knicks’ list of struggles: as mentioned by Shelburne, the Knicks have dropped nine of 11 in a stretch that includes six losses to teams that currently reside outside the top six of their respective conference. New York (25-18) never led on Monday and trailed by as much as 30 amidst boos from a local crowd en route to their fourth consecutive defeat.
Knicks fans can take at least some form of solace in Brunson fulfilling both the traditional and advanced duties of his metropolitan captaincy. In addition to rallying the locker room, Brunson is averaging 23.1 points on over 48 percent from the field with 4.4 assists. Brunson was also named a starter in the NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive season, becoming the first Knicks to land the honor in consecutive seasons since Carmelo Anthony (2012-16).
The Knicks’ next chance at making things right lands on Wednesday night when they host the Brooklyn Nets on 7th Avenue (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
