If you took the Mavericks to a neuroscientist and had the doc break down what part of the brain each player best represents, Jalen Brunson would fall into the left-side analytical part, if you subscribe to the theory that the right side is the creative half of the noggin.
Not that Brunson can’t be creative. He’s got that ability.
But when it comes to his career, he’s pragmatic about how to go step by step to ascend the NBA’s often treacherous ladder.
He’s not the kind of player or person who, in his words, wants to swing for the fences all the time.
“I just want to keep hitting singles,” Brunson said. “Keep hitting singles and chipping away, keep getting better.”
And he only knows one way to do that. And he was reminded of that when he went through a difficult stretch in the playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers last season.
It was Brunson’s first taste of the playoffs and it didn’t go as well as he would have liked, on neither a team nor personal level.
“Everything comes from your confidence,” the 6-1 point guard said. “Everything comes from your work ethic. I find that those things go hand in hand. I don’t want to say I lost confidence (in the playoffs). But I just know how hard I work. I just got to keep that mentality whenever I’m on the court.”
After a very strong regular season when Brunson finished fourth in sixth-man-of-the-year voting and averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds, his numbers dropped badly in the playoff series – 8 points, 1.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in just 16 minutes per game (nine minutes less than his regular-season average).
And so, the whispers started in the offseason about whether Brunson was the right person for the job of spelling Luka Dončić as lead playmaker when the superstar point guard needs a breather.
“I feel like I’m a playmaker,” Brunson said. “Obviously, it’s impossible not to see what people say, but (my approach is) just nod your head and keep moving.”
And do what comes naturally, which for Brunson means putting in the hours in the gym to make himself better in a slow, steady manner.
He loves to live by the motto: the magic is in the work. It may not be Luka Magic, but it works wonders for Brunson.
“I think going forward, there are little things that I can make changes to that can really help me, not just during the playoffs, but in my game in general,” Brunson said. “Taking a leap from year three to year four is just consistency. I think that’s always been my biggest thing, how consistent can I be? How can I play at the same level all the time.
“I’m going to keep trying to strive for that, even though it may be difficult to reach that level of perfection, but it’s my job to stay as consistent as I can.”
There will be no shortage of motivation for Brunson. What happened in the playoffs, plus his natural drive, take care of that. But he’s also staring at a contract season. He said he’s leaving all the negotiating to his team of agents and the Mavericks’ front office.
“Really all I’ve been focused on is what I can control right now – preparing myself for the season,” he said. “It’s out of my control right now. I don’t even want to think about it. I just want to focus on helping the team.”
The good news is that Brunson is coming off a healthy summer. His shoulder injury from two seasons back is no longer a concern.
He also learned a lot from that playoff experience – remember, he missed the postseason in the bubble because of the shoulder injury.
“My first playoff experience, I learned the ups and downs of the playoffs, not just for me individually, but being up 2-0 and being up 3-2 and still not getting the job done,” Brunson said. “I learned that nothing’s finished until it’s finished. The job’s not finished until it’s done.
“It sat with me all summer. It’s something I’ve been thinking about since June 6. So this year is going to be very interesting in how I can improve in different ways.”
One way a lot of people are talking about is making an even stronger run at the sixth-man award than he did last season.
“It’s something that I’ve thought about, but my eyes aren’t set on that,” Brunson said. “I’m focused on what can I do to help this team win and move past the first round and beyond.”
You can bet it will start with hitting a few singles.
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment