The New York Knicks have more than 24 hours to rebound from a devastating Game 1. Tyrese Haliburton trolled the Knicks in sending the game into overtime, and New York eventually fell 138-135. The climactic NBA Playoffs game also witnessed Jalen Brunson carry the load — which got a former Knicks player to send out a warning to Tom Thibodeau.

Iman Shumpert pointed out a flaw on New York's side, which he delivered via ESPN.

“The Knicks are right now putting on way too much pressure on Jalen Brunson to be effective at the end of a game,” Shumpert said. “I think they did a great job for a little bit there with their 8-0 or 10-0 run when Brunson was getting rest.”

Shumpert, who started his career with the Knicks in 2011, believes the Knicks complicate things when Brunson earns extra minutes.

“When he does get back in, I feel like things sometimes get stacked. He's attracting a lot of attention. But when he does gets those buckets, even in tough situations, he's working way too hard for them,” Shumpert said.

Ex-Knick reveals edge Pacers have over Jalen Brunson, Tom Thibodeau

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) in the third quarter during game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Shumpert dove further into why the Knicks struggled in the end. He revealed the edge Indiana brought that closed the gap and erased the 14-point deficit inside Madison Square Garden.

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“When you look at the Indiana side of things, they get those easy shots,” Shumpert said. “They get guys coming off in rhythm, guys just one-two-step and one into the shot. There's offensive rebounds, tapouts, inside-out threes — everything they seem to do is easy.”

But it's the opposite for Brunson and Thibodeau from what Shumpert observed.

“Everything the Knicks do at the end with Jalen Brunson seems to be really, really hard. And it's a lot of dribbles. I hate that for them,” Shumpert said.

The 2016 NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers offered this suggestion to “Thibs” and the Knicks.

“I think they need to make things easier for him down the stretch. They need to bring a lot of the Brunson and KAT (Karl Anthony-Towns) two-man game into the picture just to take pressure off down the stretch,” Shumpert said.

Brunson surprisingly earned the fewest minutes among the Knicks starters at 38. Mikal Bridges played a team-high 46 minutes while Josh Hart added 44. Brunson still shot the most field-goal attempts.