Candace Parker Doubles Down With Inaccurate Jalen Brunson Slander In Attempt To Talk Herself Out Of A Corner

Candace Parker caught some much-deserved heat last month after spewing criticism Jalen Brunson's direction that simply did not add up. After weeks of backlash, the WNBA star is now trying to talk herself out of her self-created corner while not exactly backing down.

During TNT's pregame show ahead of the January matchup between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, Parker decided to bring up Brunson's performance during last year's postseason.

"When the game slows down in the playoffs, and you get jammed up, we’ve seen Jalen Brunson in the playoffs with the , and he was No. 2, No. 3, came in, played minutes, supplemented Luka handling the ball, but as a No. 1 option last year in the playoffs, great first round, second round not so much," Parker said.

That analysis and opinion would be fair, but only if it were true.

Brunson was lights out during the Knicks' first-round sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers. While New York didn't fair well against the Miami Heat in the second-round, Brunson actually saw a significant uptick in key stats.

Parker insinuating that Brunson faded away against Miami is simply inaccurate.

Fast-forward to this week, and Parker acknowledged the backlash she's been receiving while putting together a makeshift explanation of what she actually meant.

"First of all, I love Knicks fans … and I get it," Parker said Tuesday, according to the New York Post. "What I was alluding to was the fact that in the first round of the playoffs, he was the best player on the court against Donovan Mitchell. He was the best player on the court.

"And the second round, especially on the defensive end, Miami picked on him a great deal. And Jimmy Butler was, in fact, the best player on the court."

 (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

While Butler was great against the Knicks, if you only look at player statistics for that Knicks-Heat series, Brunson outdid Butler.

Butler averaged 24.6 points, 6.0 assists, and 7.2 rebounds in the five-game series, while Brunson averaged 31.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.5 rebounds.

Offensive stats certainly don't paint the full picture, but for Parker to definitively say that Butler was the best player on the floor during Miami's win over New York is bold. You could make the argument in Brunson's favor over his offensive numbers alone.

Parker may want to take a few minutes and do some research before jumping in front of a mic with such heavy statements.