The Knicks have kept their heads above water without Jalen Brunson so far, going 2-2 in the games he’s missed since spraining his ankle against the Lakers earlier this month.
They are going to have to keep their heads up for a couple more weeks because it will be that long before Brunson returns to the court, Shams Charania of ESPN reported Saturday. From his comments on NBA Countdown:
“The key for the Knicks and Jalen Brunson is keeping that swelling down in that ankle, getting it lower, and then increasing the mobility in the ankle. They know they need to get him right for the playoffs. That’s of the utmost importance.”
The Knicks remain locked into the No. 3 seed in the East — they are six games back of No. 2 seed Boston (and not catching them), but also four games ahead of No. 4 seed Milwaukee with 16 games to play. As long as the Knicks can continue to tread water, they will be set to host a team in the first round of the playoffs.
That takes the pressure off having to race Brunson back — the Knicks are not making a hoped playoff run without Brunson at as close to 100% as anyone is at this point in the season. He is averaging 26.3 points a game, shooting 38.4% from 3 and 7.4 assists a night, and he is their best clutch player (although Mikal Bridges showed he could fill the role last week).
Brunson wants to return before the end of the season to play at least four more games, otherwise, he is ineligible for All-NBA (which he would make) and other postseason honors because he didn’t make the 65-game threshold. Even an early April return easily clears that bar for Brunson.
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