How the Sixers defense has hounded Jalen Brunson: ‘All our guys have stepped up and taken the challenge’

Kelly Oubre Jr. tethered himself to Jalen Brunson for the length of the court for much of Saturday’s Game 1 between the 76ers and New York Knicks. But with about five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Oubre poked the ball away (again) from the Knicks’ All-Star point guard, then dished it ahead to Tyrese Maxey for a transition layup.

That sequence epitomizes the way the Sixers have made life tough on Brunson through two games of this first-round series, which shifts to Philly for Thursday’s Game 3 at the Wells Fargo Center. It has arguably been the most significant positive development for a Sixers team down 0-2, by using an array of individual defenders and collective schemes to hold Brunson to 29.1% shooting (16-for-55) from the floor with six turnovers.

“We’re guarding him hard, like we said we were going to,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday after practice. “We pressured him. We’ve put multiple people on him. … I think all our guys have stepped up and taken the challenge.”

This has come following Brunson’s offensive tear to end the regular season, when he averaged 37.8 points on nearly 50% shooting from the floor and 8.3 assists during his final 10 games to surely solidify his spot on several MVP ballots. After the Sixers topped the Miami Heat in last week’s play-in game, advancing to a first-round series against the Knicks, starting forward Tobias Harris acknowledged that “our hands are full” with Brunson, yet immediately added, “but we’ll be able to figure it out.”

So far, the Sixers have largely accomplished their most matter-of-fact goal: forcing Brunson into difficult shots. That is far easier said than done against the crafty ballhandler known for setting the pace and slithering around and through a defense.

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The Sixers have not regularly “blitzed” Brunson with multiple defenders at the rate of several regular-season opponents, helping develop Brunson into a dangerous, decisive passer out of such situations. Instead, they have been ready to deploy a zone that organically shifts to its most dangerous scorer.

Oubre has started both games with the Brunson assignment, using his lengthy wingspan and athleticism to keep up. Harris, Maxey, Nico Batum, Kyle Lowry, and Buddy Hield have also regularly taken on that responsibility by design, while switching a screen, or when picking up Brunson in transition. From there, those defenders are asked to impose physicality and the trademark aggressiveness of a Nurse defense, which during the regular season ranked fourth in the NBA in turnovers forced (14.6 per game), second in steals (8.5), and tied for second in deflections (16.2).

The Sixers were particularly successful in Game 1 while swiping and prodding from behind when Brunson got dribble-happy in the lane, leading to blocks and steals for Oubre and Maxey and contributing to Brunson’s five turnovers. Those Sixers also have the green light to contest hard — Batum, like Oubre, can utilize his long, 6-foot-8 frame to blanket and get a hand up against the 6-2 Brunson — and revel in the fact that intimidating 7-footer Joel Embiid is lurking behind them to protect the rim and clog the paint.

“[Nurse] was giving me nuggets and tips on how to disrupt him and disrupt his flow,” Oubre said following Game 1. “[Brunson is] still going to score and do what he does, and he can shoot the ball anytime he wants, which makes it tough to guard. …

“But at the end of the day, we just need to stay solid for 48 minutes against him.”

Some examples of Brunson shaking free include on a backdoor cut in Game 1, when he fielded a bounce pass from center Isaiah Hartenstein for a finish through contact. Or when he used a shot fake off a catch to get Oubre to overpursue, then sidestepped into a three-pointer before Oubre could recover and challenge the attempt. Or when two screens got Brunson going downhill, before lofting a floater over Embiid. Or when Brunson wove around Hield and Paul Reed for an off-the-glass bucket that gave the Knicks their first lead of Game 2.

There also have been moments when a purposeful double-team by the Sixers — or a miscue — has led to Brunson facilitating for a timely shot. When Oubre slightly drifted from Donte DiVincenzo to help on Brunson in the third quarter of Game 1, for instance, he dished to his teammate for the three-pointer. In the following frame, when Brunson drove away from the screen to his right, that left Oubre and Harris in Brunson’s area. Brunson fired a crosscourt pass to OG Anunoby for a deep dagger shot.

Harris clearly got caught in the wrong position during that sequence. But he responded excellently in Game 2, when his standout fourth-quarter defense on Brunson contributed to his 2-of-8 mark from the field during that period. And on one of those makes, Brunson needed a fortuitous bounce off the front of the rim for the three-pointer that ignited the Knicks’ wild sequence to snatch a victory.

A cynic could say that the Sixers failed to capitalize on two poor Brunson shooting performances. An optimist would point out that the Sixers could get another perimeter disrupter back for Game 3 in De’Anthony Melton, who has battled a spine injury for much of the season but averaged 1.6 steals and 3.1 deflections in 38 games.

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While praising his teammates’ shot-making so far in the series after Game 2, Brunson acknowledged, “If only I can get up to that level at some point.” After Wednesday’s practice, teammate Josh Hart wondered aloud to reporters in New York if the Knicks could get Brunson cleaner looks by playing faster, but also trusted the mantra that “You shoot yourself into a slump, and you shoot yourself out of a slump.” Brunson also put the onus on himself, saying, “I need to adjust and I need to be more poised.”

“Just understand what they’re doing and just flat-out be better,” he added. “There’s no gimmicks to it. It’s just, ‘Jalen, you need to be better.’ And it’s that plain and simple.”

The Sixers, meanwhile, will vie to prevent such a turnaround.

“You’ve just got to stay after him,” Nurse said. “Even when he comes in there and makes those incredible turnaround fadeaways, you’ve got to, next time down, pick him up and go to work again.”