This was the biggest game of Mitchell's career: a Game 7 to go to the ECF for the first time with the most talented team he's had, coming off B2B stinkers... and he was phenomenal. Good scoring night but the playmaking was brilliant. 8 AST to 0 TOV. Changes everything.
Jeff Teague on the Knicks vs Cavs matchup:
โThey donโt got nobody who can guard Jalen Brunson, this sh*t over with. I want James Harden to get to the finals definitely but ainโt nobody on that team can guard Jalen Brunson. They donโt have nobody. It donโt matter they can go get Perry Ellis, it donโt matter who the hell. Sh*t Dale Ellis this sh*t over with, they got nobody that can guard him, nobody.โ
(Via @club520podcast)
@the2kmessiah Okay we get it u beat us a year agoโฆ Knicks under Mike brown and under thibs r 2 different teams but pacers fan like u continue to be oblivious to that fact and like to flex winning against last yrs team and play style
We are far from the bench - but looked like Jalen Brunson was animated, standing up and yelling at his teammates It's 63-54 Cleveland with 7:08 left in the third quarter. He's right whatever he is saying.
@JulienDecanali@KnicksMuse Yes I agree but thatโs why u need to adjust based on what heโs giving u. When heโs in rhythm and shooting confidently let him do whatever he wants. When heโs looks like a lost puppy at the 3 pt line u canโt leave him out there
@FckMBridges@KnicksMuse Heโs an enormous factor. His impact with with loose balls/rebounds/defense is huge, the problem is the Cavs are game planing to make him shoot and itโs killing the whole offense. Doesnโt change how important he is overall.
@cardboard321@jwaaggs@TheDunkCentral@GetUpESPN Regular szn stats in a small sample sizeโฆ Iโm old enough to remember when vj edgecomb locked up Brunson in the regular szn then got absolutely fried this playoffs
"Dean Wade, at 6'10", is the type of defender you put on Jalen Brunson because the length can sometimes bother him."
- Brian Windhorst
(Via @GetUpESPN )
@UnitedKnicks93@JacksFlickinger He canโt. Even good screen navigators like Dyson who defended Brunson well were constantly screened off him and allowed Brunson to still average 28 on good shooting splits against the hawks. Cade only shot bad bc he got consistently doubled
@JacksFlickinger Wouldnโt take much from this. Small sample size. offense in those games was a lot of stagnant iso. Wades size gave Brunson issues in isolation. In playoffs we are running a ton of off ball action. Will be curious if bigger/slower wade can run through offball screens over and over
Dean Wade has guarded Jalen Brunson in all three regular season games between the Cavs and Knicks.
According to the NBAโs tracking data, Brunson has a combined 6 points on 1-15 shooting with two assists when Wade is his primary defender.
@quaycooperson@ZachHumphries@HQDmaxx@NBA__Courtside Cade is not Brunson. 2 different players so y does that matter to me? The reason Cade had tour dates is also bc yall doubled him all series. Canโt double Brunson cuz other will beat yall
@ZachHumphries@HQDmaxx@NBA__Courtside Wow man Iโm sure dean wade is all defense then. Such a small sample size and vj edgecomb was coined the the latest brunson stopper for REGULAR szn statistics against Brunson. WHO CARES?
@HQDmaxx@NBA__Courtside Jalen Brunson scored only 6 total points
while shooting 1-for-16 when directly guarded by Dean Wade in their 2025-26 matchups....
@FckMBridges@Carsobi The Knicks played the 6th seed Hawks and the 7th seed Sixers and you want him to give them the same recognition as the Cavs/Mitchell beating the #1 seed on the road in Game 7 by 31.
@KnicksMemes I want the team with no answer for Brunson and where we got home court advantage. Thatโs what it comes down to for me. Not to mention harden and Donovan have been piss poor down the stretch of every game
I really can't decide who I'd rather the Knicks play
Cavs can be SO dangerous if either or both of their guards play their best, and the twin bigs are a problem too
But the Pistons are more consistently good & would have home-court
@hyattwatcher I hope the series goes the distance but Iโm split on who I wanna verse. Pistons having just Cade and being the 2023 playoff Knicks (Brunson and role players) makes me wanna play them
@SiteNYK@Carsobi Glazed the nuggets for them to lose in the 1st. Glazed the sixers for them to go down 3-0. Glazed the Celtics as ecf favorites. Ppl gotta stop listening to his takes. Iโm just naming a few of his head scratching takes
I was super wrong about this series! Brunson's been the best player, Embiid has struggled, swarming Maxey's been pretty effective, Knicks have dominated the possession battle and their bench has been WAY better. Everything's gone their way. They've been the much better team.