To add insult to injury, the New York Knicks announced on Friday that they will be without one of their best players, All-Star Jalen Brunson. He is expected to be on the shelf for at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain. Brunson suffered the injury during the New York’s 113-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. During the extra session, as Brunson was driving to the hole and drew a foul, he crumpled to the floor in obvious pain. The replay showed that he stepped on the ankle of Lakers guard Austin Reaves, causing his foot to bend at an awkward position.
Through adrenalin and toughness, Brunson managed to stay in the game to shoot his free throws, but exited immediately afterward and did not return.
Brunson has been a key cog in the Knicks’ success this season. Since arriving to the ‘Big Apple’ in the summer of 2022, he has been at the center of the most successful period for the Knicks since the 90s with Patrick Ewing. So, his absence is a significant blow to a Knicks team that currently sits in third place in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Brunson’s timetable means he will miss at least the next seven games, including Friday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, which they lost by 10, 105-95.
Embed from Getty ImagesFortunately for them, the Knicks do not have a hard schedule on the horizon, with only three of the seven coming against teams with winning records, the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Clippers. But with just a 3.5 game lead over the fourth-ranked Milwaukee Bucks, there is not a lot of room for error for the Knicks as the regular season comes to an end in the next six weeks. The Bucks have an 8-2 record over their last 10 games and are moving in the right direction with the last month of the season nearing. With Brunson sidelined, it could provide the perfect opportunity for Milwaukee to leapfrog the Knicks in the standings for that No. 3 spot in the East.
After Thursday’s game, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau spoke of Brunson’s grit despite leaving injured.
“His mental toughness is through the roof,” Thibodeau said. “It doesn’t surprise me the way he played the whole game. He still keeps battling and battling.”
Brunson’s absence affects the team in a multitude of ways, leaving the Knicks without their leading scorer, and an adequate high-level ball handler, as well. Thibodeau will have to lean on the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns to shoulder the offensive load in the meantime, which he is certainly capable of doing, but in terms of someone who can be a jack-of-all-trades, the Knicks do not have anyone available on their roster to fill that role.
“It’s a bummer of an injury,” Josh Hart said after the Lakers game.
No team relies on its starters more than the Knicks, and with Brunson out they will have over 35 minutes per night to fill.
The good news is that the injury was not more serious, but for at least the next two weeks the Knicks will have to figure out how to survive without their leading man.
