The New York Knicks had a brutal Thursday night. Not only did they blow a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime, but star point guard Jalen Brunson went down with an ankle injury in the extra frame.
As Brunson drove to the basket in transition, he was fouled by Austin Reaves and landed on the Lakers guard’s foot, which resulted in a severe ankle roll. Brunson stayed in to shoot his free throws, making both, but was then immediately helped off the floor and did not return.
The Knicks listed Brunson as out for Friday’s game at the Clippers with a right ankle sprain, but even that could mean a multi-week absence. “It’s a bummer of an injury. We expect him to be out for a little bit,” Josh Hart said after the game.
Jalen Brunson injury: Knicks star appears to turn ankle, leaves game in overtime of loss to Lakers
Sam Quinn
As the Knicks prepare to be without Brunson for the next few days or weeks, here’s a glance at their short-term outlook.
Brunson cannot be replaced
Brunson was in the midst of another All-NBA caliber campaign. In 61 appearances this season, he’s averaged 26.3 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 49% from the field, including 38.4% from behind the arc. He was also playing 35.4 minutes per night, which put him in the top 20 in the league, and routinely crossed the 40-minute mark when necessary.
Even after adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in the offseason, this remained Brunson’s team. He is not only their best scorer and playmaker, but their leader and go-to option late in games.
The Knicks are 16-8 in clutch games — games where the score is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining — and are tied for the second-best winning % (.667) in the league in those situations largely because of Brunson. His 154 clutch points are tied for the most by any player this season, and he was shooting 52.2% with 23 assists to just seven turnovers in clutch minutes.
There’s no replacing that level of production and leadership, especially when the going gets tough.
But who can step up?
Now is when Towns and Bridges, the Knicks’ big offseason additions, need to step up. They may not be able to replace exactly what Brunson does for this team, but they’re both highly skilled offensive players who have experience as the No. 1 option.
Towns, to his credit, has been excellent this season. He’s averaging 24.2 points, a career-high 13.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while shooting 52.6% from the field and 41.9% from behind the arc. Of course, all the attention that Brunson draws has made Towns’ life easy at times. Now, the Knicks will need even a bit more from him without the benefit of playing alongside one of the best guards in the league. Is he up to the task?
As for Bridges, this is his time to show why the Knicks traded five first-round picks to get him. His overall numbers — 17.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists — have been fine, but he’s been inconsistent, especially with his outside shooting. For example, he scored just six points on six shots in the loss to the Lakers, and since the start of February, he’s putting up 13.8 points and shooting 28.8% from downtown. Some of that is a result of playing alongside Brunson and Towns, which has relegated him to third-option status. Even so, you would hope for a bit more from Bridges at times. Now is one of those times.
Most of the offensive responsibility without Brunson will fall to Towns and Bridges, but Myles McBride and Cameron Payne will also see more playing time at the point guard spot. Even second-round pick Tyler Kolek could find himself on the court more often. That trio will all play an important role in running the offense as long as Brunson remains sidelined.
Playoff seeding at stake
For the majority of the season, the Knicks have been trying to chase down the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. But after a bit of a slump over the last month, which included two losses to the Celtics, the Knicks are now 4.5 games behind the Celtics and do not have the tiebreaker. It’s unlikely the Knicks could have made up that gap even if Brunson was healthy, but they can essentially forget about it without him.
Instead, the Knicks will now turn their focus toward maintaining the No. 3 seed. Their lead for that spot is now down to 3.5 games on the surging Milwaukee Bucks. While there is still one game to be played between those clubs, the Knicks have already secured the tiebreaker with the Bucks.
The Knicks’ loss to the Lakers was the start of a difficult West Coast road trip that still includes games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors. Even if Brunson isn’t facing a long-term absence, it’s certainly possible he doesn’t play the rest of this trip. In that case, the Knicks could be clinging to the No. 3 seed by the time they return home.
If you’re looking ahead to a potential second-round matchup, it may not matter if the Knicks are the No. 3 or 4 seed. If they’re No. 3, they’d almost certainly play the Celtics, and if they’re No. 4, they’d surely have to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’re 0-3 vs. the Celtics and 0-2 against the Cavs, and only one of those games has been close.
Still, the No. 3 seed would be better, which would mean a first-round matchup with the Detroit Pistons as things stand. As well as the Pistons have been playing lately, they’re young and inexperienced and you would probably rather deal with them than the Bucks or Indiana Pacers.