It was not a moral victory.
It was not a question of gaining comfort in anything after a hard series.
Jalen Brunson wanted to specify it.
He did not see the Knicks reaching the final of the Eastern Conference for the first time in 25 years as a kind of success.
The captain of the Knicks, however, considered that it was appropriate to recognize what went well this year for the Knicks, even if they fell six victories in less of their ultimate goal.
“I am not sure that” accomplished “is the word I would use here, but I think that the way this team has progressed this year, for me, it was fun,” said Brunson after the Knicks were eliminated by the Pacers in six games on Saturday evening. “There were a lot of people who said that we could not do a lot of things. A lot of negativity around what we were trying to do and how we put the blinders and that we were going to work, it was something that I was proud of with this team. I am proud of the way we stayed.”
The Knicks have had a strong regular season, winning 51 games, their plus since the 2012-13 season.
Despite this, they mainly entered the eliminatory series a reflection afterwards with regard to the contenders, largely because of their 0-8 record against the first two heads of series in the East, the title champion Celtics and Cavaliers.
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But the Knicks amazed Boston in the second round, reproducing from 20 -point deficits at TD Garden in each of the first two games.
They played more deeply in the spring than expected.
In the losing changing rooms, there was frustration and disappointment, but also to optimism for the future.
A conviction that there is more to come from this group.
It was their first year together, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges joining the nucleus led by Brunson who also included Mitchell Robinson, Og Anunoby, Josh Hart and Miles McBride.
That An entire group is under contract next seasonAnd Brunson thinks it can take the next step together.
“The most confident. Over-connocial. Seriously,” said Brunson. “There is not an ounce of doubt that I am not confident with this group.
“We have a lot of guys who are part of this team, and I have the impression that you are still asking for:” What are you working on every time? ” And things like that, “he added. “And from what I have seen, no one is really publishing on the things they do. We have a lot of guys who really want to work hard to be better, and I like it, and I appreciate my teammates and everything they do and everything they believe.”
