Jalen Brunson is steering New York’s offense through a rough opening stretch, and Tuesday’s matchup with Detroit gives the Knicks another chance to make that look cleaner. The Knicks are 0-3, while the Pistons arrive unbeaten through three games.
Brunson has been clear about what he wants to fix. After the Orlando loss, SNY’s Ian Begley reported that Brunson placed the responsibility on himself to get teammates into the proper spots. That wasn’t a shrug or an excuse; it was Brunson owning the organizational side of the job that comes with running the offense.
The challenge for New York is making his first few touches less complicated without taking away the aggression that makes him central to everything they do. A simple screen, a faster read, and teammates positioned for the next pass would go a long way. Brunson is still the player the Knicks want with the ball when the possession gets tight, but not every trip down the floor needs to become a grind.
The raw numbers from the first two games are part of the story, too. Brunson scored 19 against Boston and 28 against Orlando, and the official box scores show he went 19-for-45 from the field and 3-for-12 from three across those two games. He added four assists in each outing.
That’s not enough to label this a long-term shooting issue. Two games don’t define a season. What matters right now is whether New York can help him play faster and with more clarity while defenses load up on him.
Sometimes the better answer is not another tough shot. An early pass before the defense can bring a second defender can be just as valuable as a contested look. If Detroit sends extra attention, the Knicks would be better served by Brunson trusting a teammate with an advantage than by trying to win every possession himself.
That’s where the rest of the roster has to meet him. Karl-Anthony Towns has scored 22 points in each of the past two games, giving New York another option when Brunson starts the possession. The Knicks have more than one scoring outlet, even if Brunson is still the one who usually gets things moving.
The injury report adds a wrinkle, though it doesn’t solve anything for either side. Jose Alvarado is out for New York with a left ankle sprain, and Detroit center Jalen Duren is out with a hamstring strain. Those absences matter, but they don’t tell you how the game will actually unfold.
New York still has 78 games left after Tuesday. There’s plenty of runway to fix things, but the slow start is real. Brunson’s own message points the Knicks toward the simplest adjustment: organize the first action, identify the help, and make Detroit defend the entire possession.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Pulled Off Another Quiet Draft-Night Win
The Knicks used the 30th pick on Sergio de Larrea, then quickly turned that selection into a different kind of asset by sending his rights to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks. It was the sort of maneuver that fits neatly with how New York has tried to work around its salary cap limitations, squeezing value wherever it can find it instead of simply standing pat on draft night.
De Larrea was already playing professionally in Spain, and soon after the draft he helped Valencia win the Liga ACB title, adding another layer to a player the Knicks never intended to keep. New York also knew Dallas had been linked to him and had the front office ties to make the deal work, which is why this looked less like a pass on a prospect and more like a calculated bet on information and timing. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Idea
The Knicks have been pulled into an early-season trade idea that already feels bigger than the standings around it. Miami opened with a 0-4 start after reshaping its roster in a blockbuster deal with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and the rough beginning has only fueled chatter about how the new pieces fit with Bam Adebayo still anchoring the frontcourt.
What makes the speculation more interesting from New Yorks side is the path some are floating to get there: a swap centered on Adebayo and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Karl-Anthony Towns. Nothing has been confirmed by Miami, and the Heat could easily give the group more time to settle in, but the mere fact the Knicks are part of this kind of conversation says a lot about how quickly the league starts chasing the next big idea when a new roster stumbles out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Already Have A Real Andre Drummond Debate On Their Hands
Andre Drummonds first few weeks as the Knicks backup center have already turned into a small but real rotation conversation. He opened the 2026-27 season with a double-double, then saw his minutes dip in the next games as Mike Brown adjusted the lineup, a familiar kind of early-season sorting-out process for a team still figuring out how it wants to use its depth. Even so, Brown has made clear Drummond remains in the backup mix, which matters for a bench frontcourt that needs a dependable presence when the starters sit.
Drummond gave the Knicks a reminder of why that role is worth monitoring in the win over Detroit, when he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes. It was a cleaner, more productive showing than some of his earlier outings, and it gave New York a useful glimpse of what he can offer when the minutes are there. The larger question now is whether that performance is the start of a steadier climb back into a bigger share of the center rotation. [Read more 🡒]