Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have gotten off to a strong first half plus to the 2023-24 NBA season, currently sitting with a 33-22 record, good for fourth place in the vaunted Eastern Conference playoff picture as the season reaches its All-Star break in Indianapolis. Brunson has been a large part of the reason for the relative resurgence of the Knicks in recent seasons, earning a nod as an All-Star reserve this year for the Eastern Conference squad for Sunday evening's game.

Of course, Brunson got his start at Villanova, where he was teammates with current Knicks teammate Josh Hart as well as Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges, and the three recently reunited on the Roommates Show podcast (via Playmaker), and one of the talking points was the way that defensive intensity at times can fluctuate in the NBA setting.

“Tell them, this is what I do, I don’t play defense anymore, I hoop, I ball,” said Brunson jokingly.

“Why do you gotta do that? Look at the last 3 or 4 games, you got me hot now,” replied Bridges. “I felt that though, that’s why I’m so aggressive. I just wasn’t feeling myself on defense like I usually do, but these past games.”

Indeed, defense can at times feel like a hopeless endeavor in the modern NBA considering the immense talent that currently exists around the league. Still, to their credit, Brunson, Hart, and Bridges all overall profile as at worst neutral, at best positive defenders for their respective squads so far this season.