With the New York Knicks advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, their 2025 playoff run is their most successful in over two decades. Yet, fans cannot help but feel disappointed on the brink of elimination. With Jalen Brunson shouldering most of the criticism, ESPN's Mike Greenberg stood in defense of the star point guard.

Brunson, 28, was named to the All-NBA second team for the second consecutive season. However, foul trouble and defensive issues have led to a rocky outing in the Eastern Conference Finals. As Knicks fans continue to voice their frustrations with him on social media, Greenberg could no longer hold back.

“If I hear one more word of criticism about Jalen Brunson, or about the idea that somehow Jalen Brunson is the reason that the Knicks are not doing this or that, I'm going to smash my head against a wall,” Greenberg said on ESPN's ‘Get Up.' “Jalen Brunson has single-handedly dragged a very average team to the Eastern Conference Finals.. [The rest of the team] are good players. But every one of them [is] significantly flawed. They need one guy to be a superstar. They need one guy to be genuinely brilliant. Night in and night out, Jalen Brunson has been that.”

Greenberg added that he believes the Indiana Pacers are “much better” than the Knicks, leading to the lopsided 3-1 series score entering Game 5.

Through his struggles, Brunson still leads the Knicks with 33.3 points and 5.5 assists per game in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, he also averages 4.0 turnovers and 4.0 fouls per game, often forcing Tom Thibodeau to play Miles McBride, Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet more than he would like.

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Knicks PG Jalen Brunson's Eastern Conference Finals struggles

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) talks to center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the second half against the Detroit Pistons during game six of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena.
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For the most part, Brunson is the same offensive juggernaut he has been all season. The burly point guard is shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and has topped 30 points in three of the series' first four games. His main struggles have come on defense, where he has never been known to thrive.

The Knicks attempt to hide Brunson on one of Indiana's low-usage guards, like Andrew Nembhard or Aaron Nesmith. Yet, whenever his defensive assignment touches the ball, the Pacers smartly isolate him in single coverage. Brunson's lack of lateral quickness is routinely exploited, causing him to get beaten off the bounce and rack up fouls. Those struggles gave him five fouls in Games 1 and 3.

Brunson is far from the only Knick to struggle defensively. Despite New York investing in its defense in the 2024 offseason, the Pacers continue to have their way on offense. Tyrese Haliburton's dominance has him looking like the next Magic Johnson, while Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam and Nesmith repeatedly find success.