43 points + 40 points! First person in history, from substitute to All-Star, you are the strongest defender in the East

In this year's NBA playoffs, many stars played very tough. Alexander of the Thunder proved his MVP's strength and led the team to the finals first. In the G3 series against the Nuggets, after the Thunder lost, Alexander smiled slightly, and the wind was calm. Later, he said that he would lead the team to win the Nuggets in one fell swoop. The Celtics' Tatum averaged 28.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists in the playoffs, and averaged more than 40 minutes per game, directly fighting torn the Achilles tendon. Mitchell of the Cavaliers struggled to support the single-core when his teammates were in poor condition. Even if he scored 48 points and a high score of 43 points in a single game, it would not help the team recover the defeat. Pacers star Halliburton has played a draw many times this year in the playoffs, leading the team to a super counterattack, which is really tough.

Of course, to be honest, until now, the best player in the West must be Alexander, and the best player in the East is Brunson of the Knicks. In this year's playoffs, Brunson averaged 30.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game, and was the first in the league in total three-point production. He ranked third in the league in scoring per game. Antetokounmpo and Doncic, who were ahead of him, were both eliminated in the first round, and the sample size was insufficient. Brunson could still average 30 points per game until the Eastern Conference Finals, which is indeed exaggerating. In addition, this year's playoffs, Brunson's condition was quite stable, with few poor games, and none of them scored less than 16 points in a single game. Stars such as Alexander, Jokic, Mitchell, and Edwards all had no more than 15 points in a single game.

And this is not the first time Brunson has performed so well in the playoffs. As early as last year's playoffs, he averaged 32.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game, breaking multiple records. In the two games between the first round against the 76ers, Brunson scored 86 points and 23 assists, becoming the first player in NBA playoff history, with a total of 85 points + 20 assists in two consecutive games. In the match against the 76ers G4, Brunson scored 47 points and 10 assists, scoring at least 45 points + 10 assists when the team scored only 100 points, becoming the first player in playoff history to achieve it. He also averaged 41 points and 9.7 assists in three games, the first in history. The scores of 40+ in four consecutive playoff games were all the first player in the NBA in the past 30 years, and the last one was Michael Jordan. It’s a pity that the entire Knicks team was affected by injuries last year, and they eventually stopped in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

In this year's playoffs, although Brunson's data performance was not as amazing as last year, he also had many 40+ performances in a single game. He scored 40 points in the G6 against the Pistons and scored 43 points in the first game against the Pacers. He also became the fourth Eastern Conference defender in NBA history to double-digit 30 points in the playoffs in one year, and the other three are Wade, Iverson and Jordan. Since 2020, Brunson has ranked second in the league in the playoffs among guards, only 17 points behind Doncic, and he will be able to surpass him soon. Compared to last season, more importantly, Brunson led the Knicks to continue to make breakthroughs and reached the Eastern Conference Finals. In fact, it was precisely because of Brunson's joining that the Knicks were able to get out of the dire situation at the time and upgrade to a playoff-level team.

43 points + 40 points! The first person in history, you are the strongest defender in the Eastern Conference from a substitute to an All-Star. I have to say that the Knicks and Brunson achieved mutual success. Before coming to the Knicks, Brunson was just a very ordinary player. He had been a younger brother by Doncic during his time as a Maverick, and even started as a substitute. His physical talent is average, he has neither height advantage nor super athletic ability and explosive power among the defenders, but he can evolve step by step with his acquired efforts, develop super stable central shots, and the ability to rely on his core strength to fight in the penalty area. In the 22nd playoffs, Brunson showed his strength and played a pro-star performance in the Mavericks' final season, but the Mavericks were still unwilling to provide him with a high-paying contract that year.

However, the Knicks had a keen eye and decisively recruited Brunson for $100 million in four years. Both sides benefited and won the win-win situation. After introducing Brunson, the Knicks' record increased significantly. They entered the playoffs for three consecutive years, and went further year by year. Brunson officially became an All-Star player, and he also made himself the boss of the team, and was also the key player of the NBA this season. No matter how the Knicks' final result is in this year's playoffs, they are in line with expectations. Basically, relying on several starting players to fight until now, all the main players are super Iron Man, and they can win the defending champion Celtics in 6 games in the second round, creating major reversals many times, showing extremely tenacious fighting spirit. As a star, Brunson's performance is indelible. What do you think of the Knicks' future prospects? Do you still have hope to go to a higher level?