The Rundown

Captain Clutch strikes again, the Post man delivers, the King has no plans of relinquishing the crown, and more...

QUICK HITS

After yet another collection of big, late-game baskets in the Knicks' tight 116-112 victory over the Heat last night, Jalen Brunson continues to validate the moniker of “Captain Clutch.” In doing so, he is making one hell of a case as the frontrunner for this season’s Jerry West Award for the league’s Clutch Player of the Year.

On our awards episode of No Gimmes, I laid out my case for why Brunson was the deserving recipient of the league’s least interesting award (can we please bring back Comeback Player of the Year?), but I’m sure we all agree that any argument is always made more impactful with visuals. So, I made some charts and graphs to share with class.

First, here’s a look at Brunson’s ranks among the top 25 scorers in clutch situations this season.

Brunson is second in total points scored in the clutch, despite being 22nd in total minutes played in those situations and having played just the 18th-most games overall among the players on this list. Meanwhile, his 44 made field goals are 10 more than the four players tied for second. Brunson’s 52% from the field is also good for sixth overall, while he’s third in both free throws made and in assists.

Only Trae Young’s numbers can compete with Brunson’s. But while Brunson’s Knicks are 16-7 in clutch situations with him shooting over 50%, Young’s Hawks are just 15-15, with Young being his typically inefficient self at 40% from the floor. And while Young does lead all players in assists by seven, he is also unsurprisingly tied with Jalen Green for the most turnovers.

Whereas Young giveth and taketh away in equal measures, Brunson continues to be the league’s most reliable performer in the biggest moments. To really get a sense of just how much better Brunson has been, let’s take a look at the “super clutch”—the final two minutes of a game—where Brunson is shooting a league-best 61.9% while having scored five more points than Young, who is managing just 36.6% in those situations (min. 15 minutes played with at least 15 FGAs).

Definitely interact with this graph ⬇️

All the statistical data makes a compelling enough argument, but one really only needs to apply the eye test to see how good Brunson has been in these situations—not just this season, but since his ascendance as the Knicks' best player. Brunson has ranked in the top ten in clutch points in each of the last three seasons, ranking in the top five this year and in 2023.

There is zero question as to which Knick is getting the ball in those situations, and Brunson not only wants that responsibility, but he seems to execute with success at an unreal frequency.

For a Knicks group that has played in just the 28th-most clutch games this season, they haven’t had to rely on Brunson’s late-game heroics as much as many other teams in the league have had to rely on their stars. But the fact that they have the league’s best performer in those moments—and considering how often those situations present themselves come playoff time—it’s a positive sign for a New York group whose championship aspirations will inevitably include winning big games late.

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LeBron James should be ashamed of himself. Not for any particular act of egregiousness, but merely for the audacity he has in making the rest of us relatively recent 40-year-olds feel really bad about ourselves.

Look, we all knew James was an athletic freak of nature by the time he was old enough to legally drive. By the age of 16, LeBron had the type of physical maturity that makes one take a second, third, and forensic look at a birth certificate. So, the fact that he’s aging like a bottle of 1990 Château d’Yquem is of little surprise. However, performing at damn near your best this far into one’s relative point of aging is still some insane work. Since turning 40 on Dec. 30, LeBron is in the midst of one of the best stretches of basketball in his career. And when a career spans 22 seasons, that’s saying something.

Here's a look at James' averages in the 27 games since he joined the 40-club:

Now, don’t get this twisted. I’m not saying that the version of LeBron we’re seeing right now could hold a candle to LeBron in his peak. But what I am saying is that even at 40, we are witnessing a version of LeBron that can still be as comprehensively impactful as any player in the NBA. James remains one of the league’s most lethal scorers in close, shooting an insane 79.4% at the rim. And with the incredible work that he’s put into becoming a legitimately dangerous perimeter shooter—James is shooting 40.1% from distance over the last two seasons combined after shooting just 32.1% in ’23—LeBron’s high-water mark is still about as good as it gets in the NBA. And somehow, over the course of this season, he’s only been getting better.

This, from the oldest player in the NBA. A player who currently sits third all-time in games played and is already first all-time in total minutes.

James is legitimately playing some of the best basketball of his entire career over his last 29 games, again, 27 of which have come since he turned 40. If we omit the two runs this season that latch onto the current streak before he turned 40, this is only the third time in which, over a 27-game span, LBJ has averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal while shooting at least 54.0% from the field and 42.0% from three.

Sure, you could argue that that is a lot of qualifications, but that’s kind of the point. James has been dominating the game in nearly every phase, including playing his most spirited regular-season defense in terms of effort and communication since maybe when he was back with Miami.

This Los Angeles defense has ranked first in the NBA since January 11 and has allowed the fewest points in the paint per game since January 14. When a sample size covers more than a quarter of the entire season, it’s no longer merely a fluke or a reflection of favorable circumstance. The Lakers' defense has found a way to compensate for their lack of interior size by being long, smart, reactive, and playing with great effort. The fact that James has been playing with so much energy on that end has been deeply impactful for a team whose defense is outperforming its personnel.

Somehow, in his 22^nd season in the league, James is still playing like one of the ten best players in the NBA.

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Speaking of one of the NBA’s elder statesmen defying their age, last week, Steph Curry reminded the Orlando Magic that he is still, in fact, “like that.” For those who may have missed the massive plumes of smoke escaping the Kia Center on Thursday, Curry went full towering inferno for a season-high 56 points on a career-high-tying 12 made threes—evening Curry with former Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, for the most career games with 12 threes made (3).