One of the reasons that the Knicks have been so successful this NBA season has been the performance of point guard Jalen Brunson. Many people questioned the contract that the Knicks signed him to in free agency, calling it an overpay. But, in his first year as a full-time starter, he has blown away all expectations and proven to be well worth the deal.
On the season Brunson is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 34.9 minutes per game. His presence has helped elevate the performance of all of his teammates around him, which has helped get the Knicks into the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 39-29 record.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, they could be without their starting point guard for a little while. Brunson made his return to the court against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night and looked very good.
In 19 first-half minutes, he scored 19 points while handing out two assists with two rebounds. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range, helping keep the Knicks in a game in which they struggled shooting the ball.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson & New York Knicks Updates
But, on the final offensive play of the first half, Brunson looks to re-aggravate the foot injury that had cost him the previous three games. The injury is shrouded in mystery, as no one really knows what is truly wrong with his foot at this point as shared by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t have much to offer after the game either. He did admit that Brunson re-aggravated his injury, but he was unsure of what the next steps would be.
“Not that I know of,” Thibodeau responded when asked if Brunson was going to New York for tests. “I’ll speak with the medical people. Let them do their job. You gotta trust them, and you trust Jalen. They’ll evaluate him, and whatever he needs, we’ll make sure he gets.”
Brunson did suffer an ankle injury against the Miami Heat on March 3rd and was listed as a game-time decision for the game on Sunday evening against the Boston Celtics. He ended up sitting out that game and an embarrassing loss against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night as well.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson & New York Knicks Updates
Without knowledge of what the injury is, it is hard to put a timetable on when Brunson could return to the court. Given how fast he was ruled out of the game against the Kings, it could mean we don’t see him for the remainder of the west coast trip.
The Knicks will be back at it on Saturday afternoon against the LA Clippers before facing off with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. After that, they will travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday afternoon to wrap up their four-game road trip.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson & New York Knicks Updates
It would not be surprising to see Brunson sit out all of those games to give him ample rest. The next time the Knicks take the court after facing the Trail Blazers is on Saturday, March 18th when they host the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. That seems like a reasonable target date for Brunson to get back on the court, depending on the severity of the injury, to maximize his recovery time.
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