Heading into the Boston Celtics' second-round series against the New York Knicks, one of the biggest challenges was always going to be slowing down Jalen Brunson. The Knicks guard entered the series as the NBA's leading scorer through one round of postseason play.
According to Celtics guard Derrick White, Brunson is "impossible" to shut down, but Boston is going to have to try to make him work in this matchup.
"He's a great player," White told reporters after Tuesday's practice. "He's gonna make tough shots. He's gonna do a lot for their team. It's kind of impossible to shut him down. So, just gotta make him make tough shots...Try to make him work."
The Celtics did a great job of making Jalen Brunson 'work' in Game 1
Brunson finished Monday's Game 1 with 29 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. On the surface, it would appear that the Cs failed to make things difficult for the All-Star guard. Well, looks can be deceiving.
White, along with Jrue Holiday and Al Horford, was faced with the challenge of trying to make Brunson uncomfortable.
Of the three, Holiday spent the most time defending New York's No. 11. He guarded Brunson on 32 partial possessions and held him to seven points on 2-8 from the field.
He did a tremendous job of navigating New York's screens and forced Brunson into difficult shots the entire night.
When the Knicks were successful in getting Brunson free of Holiday, White and Horford still managed to hold their own defensively. White guarded him for 17 partial possessions and didn't allow a shot attempt.
As for Horford, New York made a concerted effort to attack the veteran down the stretch. He gave up eight points to Brunson on 10 partial possessions, but still made him work.
Horford forced two turnovers late in the game and held Brunson to 3-of-8 from the floor. Even at 38 years old, the big man can still move his feet well and force his opponent towards the help defenders.
Even on the possessions where Horford gave up points, Brunson just made tough shots, like the ones below.
Seriously, there's not much better defense that he could've played here. This is why New York pays their star guard the big bucks. He's one of the biggest shot-makers in the league.
For Boston, if they're able to keep up this sort of defense for the entire series, Brunson may get his points, but he's going to have to work for them. White said they've got to make him make tough shots, and it's exactly what they did.