The shocking rise of NBA star Jalen Brunson, which no one saw coming.

The shocking rise of NBA star Jalen Brunson, which no one saw coming.

If you had any doubts about Leon Rose and his team giving the second-in-command of the Dallas Mavericks $104 million—and I’ll be honest—Jalen Brunson has neatly, convincingly, and overwhelmingly answered them.

The point guard had a big season in his first year at Madison Square Garden, leading the Knicks to their first top-10 finish to offensive efficiency while their first playoff series win in a decade.

He’s had an even better second season, leading the charge for the NBA’s hottest team and being named an All-Star for the first time in his career on Thursday.

New York is on a league-best nine-game streak of victories and has gone 15-2 since January 1. This was their first game with OG Anunoby, who they got from the Raptors in exchange for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, two homegrown prospects.

The quiet newcomer has fit right in with the Knicks. According to NBA Advanced Stats, he averages almost 16 points per game on 52/39/84 shooting and more than six steals, blocks, and deflections per night, while holding some of the NBA’s most dangerous forwards to just 42.3% shooting.

Monday is the first day of the week, and there are 11 games. The Charlotte Hornets are scheduled to play the New York Knicks in one of the initial tips of the night. This is because Julius Randle hurt his shoulder over the weekend.

We’re still waiting for more information about how bad it is and when it will happen. In the meantime, we’ll be watching the rotation this evening to get useful fantasy information. The next level of streaming talks about a rising star on the Hornets’ frontcourt.

We also learned more about Randle’s situation. In other injury news, Evan Mobley is likely to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Ben Simmons is back for the Brooklyn Nets.

Mobley is still on the rosters of most leagues, but Simmons can be bought in about 60% of leagues, which suggests that he could be useful if he can get back to being a good playmaker, defender, and rebounder.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that could decide who wins the top spot in the Western Conference.

The Milwaukee Bucks, who are led by new manager Doc Rivers, are playing the Denver Nuggets.

It will be fascinating to see why Rivers uses the Bucks’ experienced rotation against the teams that are currently in first place.

Being like that for one month is not the same as being like that all season. Seeing Brunson’s name in that light might come as a surprise, but it’s important to remember how important he is to the Knicks’ offense.

He makes his shots, as shown by the ridiculously high 59% clip he had on his main shot in January and the 39.7% clip he’s getting on his pull-up 3-pointers so far this year.

Even more importantly, it’s true for the ones he makes for his teammates, who almost all shoot more effectively if Brunson is there to set the table.

The speed of play is the fastest it’s been in more than 30 years, which is a big reason for all those crazy individual scoring performances.

According to Mike Beuoy’s tracking at Unpredictable, New York is 27th out of 30 NBA teams in possessions per 48 minutes as well as dead last in the average time it takes to shoot after a defensive rebound.

This is the offensive style that Tom Thibodeau wants to use: methodical and probing. It works for the Knicks because Brunson can keep the ball, cut through multiple defenders, make the right read, and set up a great look.