Jalen Brunson’s egregious flopping is NBA Playoffs’ most annoying subplot

Jalen Brunson is not one of the greatest, rapid or most explosive guards in the NBA, but it has become one of the best because no one is more cunning. Brunson has faced skeptics when he has climbed into the world of basketball, moving from an underestimated recruit to a legend of university basketball in Villanova to a second round of Draft that the Dallas Mavericks did not want in the long term. It has become a true superstar of the NBA in the New York Knicks, even with the same limitations, traditional explorers have always seen in it.

Ausar Thompson is almost Brunson’s opposite pole. He is a fast elite athlete with a large positional size who is still learning to sharpen his skill set and apply his tools. Thompson is drawing Brunson’s assignment while Detroit’s Pistons face the Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs of 2025, and through two Brunson games, any advantage is already throwing the sink of the kitchen.

In practice, that means Brunson, priming Thompson in offenses and doing everything that can sell them to the referees. He has led to a wide extension that Brunson is a flopper, which is or of course nothing new for people who have seen their entire career.

The Pistons beat the Knicks, 100-94, in game 2 on Monday night for even the series. Brunson had a great game for the Knicks (37 points, seven assists), but most of the duration of the talk The contest was about its failure. The Knicks star committed a lack of Thompson with about five minutes in the regulation, and immediately celebrated holding six fingers in the air.

This work is an example of why it is so difficult to protect Brunson without dirtying. As soon as Thompson reaches, Brunson throws his body towards him to reach the free throw line. Through two games, Brunson tries 10.5 free throws per game in this series.

Some of Brunson’s unpleasant at the beginning of the game were much more atrocious. One of the proven and true rules of failure is that if you fall, the referees generally call a fault. Thompson played a great defense here beating Brunson to the place on the floor, he was trying to get to get, but when Brunson fell, the referees blew the whistle on Thompson.

Thompson is harassing Brunson on the back track in this possession when the Knicks star hooks his arm. The referees saw the two tangled players and called a foul on Thompson.

Here is a closer look at the work.

Basketball is a contact sport, and Brunson really knows how to sell that contact. He is receiving cervical whip of a minor contact, throwing his head back, falling to the ground and forcing the referees to do something about it. As long as it is rewarded, Brunson will continue to do so.

At a certain point, Brunson is only damaging his own reputation. There was a lot of talk about his failure after the victory of the Pistons.

The Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, defended Brunson after the game, and pointed out that the Pistons enjoyed an advantage of 34-19 free kick attempts over New York in game 2. Tibs begged the refs to consistency, but it is difficult to apply when their star player is exaggerating the contact at each opportunity.

Knicks-Pistons is the physical basketball of the ESE conference at its best. No one said it was going to be pretty.