Jalen Brunson balled out against the Wizards, recording a 41/8/8 stat line in the 113-108 victory. Brunson’s fourth 40-point game of the season, and his first since December, when he scored a career-high 50 against the Suns.
Fans were quick to suggest that Leray’s presence fueled Brunson’s great performance. Prior to the game against Washington, Brunson had averaged 25.9 points per game in the first seven games of January. Perhaps the presence of Leray, as one X user phrased it, transformed Brunson into “2001 Allen Iverson”. On the other hand, he was competing against the Wizards.
Despite his strong performance, Brunson did not receive much support from his teammates. Julius Randle was the only other Knick to reach 20 points, while the bench combined for only seven. Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 24 points. Meanwhile, Leray’s close friend Kyle Kuzma had fifteen. With the win, the Knicks climbed to 25-17 on the season and are presently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference rankings.
Meanwhile, some are concerned about how the new NBA rest regulation may effect the MVP race. Joel Embiid can miss no more than seven of the Sixers’ final 43 games to be considered for MVP this season. Due to a series of ailments, Embiid has appeared in 29 of the Sixers’ 39 games this season. However, due to load management rules adopted during the offseason, Embiid must play in 65 games to be eligible for all major honors. This implies that Embiid must appear in at least 36 of the team’s remaining games to be considered for the award for which he is presently the frontrunner.
Jalen Brunson saw Coi Leray courtside and turned in to 2001 Allen Iverson
41/8/8 😮💨 All Star Starter him
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) January 19, 2024
“Our goal is to be ready for the playoffs. “If I don’t meet the criteria of 65 games, as long as I’m ready to dominate in April, that’s all I care about,” Embii told reporters after the Sixers’ win over Houston on January 15. The 65-game regulation was imposed as the NBA sought to reduce the number of big-game players missing games due to “load management”. As part of its ongoing attempts to address load management, the league recently released a research that found the approach did not reduce the chance of long-term injuries.
