Sixers guard discusses defending former Knicks teammate, Jalen Brunson

NEW YORK -- As the Philadelphia 76ers took the court on Monday morning to prepare for shootaround ahead of Game 1 with the New York Knicks, they know their focus will be slowing down Knicks star Jalen Brunson who is one of the premier players in this league.

Brunson averaged 26.0 points and 6.8 assists in the regular season as he has once again led the Knicks to the top of the conference. He may stand at just 6-foot-1, but he plays with a physical brand of basketball that has allowed him to win in the playoffs and cause nightmares for opponents at this stage of his career.

Sixers guard Quentin Grimes began his career with the Knicks and played with Brunson. He knows exactly what he's capable of and what it's going to take to slow him down.

"I played with him," Grimes said at shootaround on Monday morning. "He’s an elite-level scorer. He’s crafty, big body, likes to play physical, so we just gotta do our best to slow him down. Try to make it as hard as possible for him defensively, try to throw different bodies for him and stuff like that, but he’s gonna make tough shots. That’s what he does. We just gotta make it as tough as possible for him."

Of course, Grimes and the Sixers just had to battle tough offensive opponents in Round 1 in the form of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who give everybody trouble. Now, the challenge turns to Brunson who offers a much different look than both of those players.

"It’s a brand new challenge," Grimes explained. "Tatum and Brown, they’re bigger guys. They’re just bigger and hard to contest and stuff like that, but Jalen—like he’s a big body. He plays in the post as well. He can get downhill, probably finishes more than them a little bit. He gets in the paint with floaters and stuff like that."