Jalen Brunson‘s sprained right ankle is expected to keep him sidelined until late March or early April, Shams Charania of ESPN said tonight on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link).
The Knicks announced that Brunson would be reevaluated in two weeks after he suffered the injury while driving to the basket late in a March 6 game against the Lakers. However, sources tell Charania that the sprain involves “more of a three- to four-week minimum return time frame.”
“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,” Charania said. “They know they need to get him right for the playoffs. That’s of the utmost importance.”
New York is managing to get by without Brunson, going 2-1 since the injury as a five-game road trip wraps up tonight at Golden State. The Knicks appear locked into the third seed in the East — five games behind Boston and five games ahead of Milwaukee and Indiana — so there’s no need to rush Brunson back until his ankle is fully healed.
Brunson made his second straight All-Star appearance this year and is a strong contender to again earn All-NBA honors, although he’ll have to play four more times to reach the 65-game requirement. He’s averaging 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night with a .490/.384/.825 shooting line.
Charania also touched on a mini-controversy this week involving Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau. Bridges stated that he had talked to his coach about reducing the minutes for the starters, but Thibodeau denied that such a conversation ever took place.
Charania confirms that Bridges and Thibodeau held a “closed-door meeting” before Wednesday’s game, which he described as a “productive” session in which both sides were “able to hash things out.” A source told Charania that the situation is now “history.”
Get well Jalen …. don’t rush it. All about the playoffs.
Thibs offense has no ball movement. Like it did in first half of season. Warriors showed that. Too much perimeter. Warriors played better. But Knicks missed easy shots (4-5). Too many TO. Warrior D.
Knicks have a good stretch coming. Better take advantage.
Knicks are so well-coached that they to hold on to 3rd, even if Brunson isn’t back until April. Towns is a legit top 20 player (like Brunson). But yesterday’s loss will simply strengthen the open question all around the league: “Can the Knicks beat the top teams?” Looks like we won’t know until the playoffs.
Both Knicks and Warriors teams missed a lot of shots, but Warriors had one of their worst shooting days of the season, even though Knicks. Warriors missed 5 open threes (3 by Steph) in the 4th to increase the margin from 9 points to 12 points, and put the game away. Butler was awful — 3 for 11, and missed 4 bunnies. Hield was 1-7, Draymond 1-5, etc.
The teams would be more evenly matched at full strength.
Bro you understand the reason for that. Its our bench scoring. Not good and Thibs still doesn’t trust them. That means to win games. Also Towns Interior D is an issue. Well Mitch helps there. But bench scoring is still an issue. Thats why the high mins for starters. Which can come back to bite you. Its why I say Mitch in shape. And TJ coming can only help. We add two guys to bench. So by numbers you hope to be better. It ain’t over till it’s over right.
RIP Knicks season. They were never true contenders anyway. KAT isn’t winning a thing in this league and they are asking too much of Brunson.
And the “dominating” Warriors “won” by 3 against the Brunson-less Knicks.
Curry had a off game and the warriors still won. Knicks defense is better without Brunson.
They have plenty of point guards to cover for a bit. Start McBride and some minutes to Kolek, Tucker and Delon Wright. They also need to cut the starters minutes by at least 4 or 5 minutes a game.
Random picture: The team is at a private bar drinking…. Oh wait Dadiet needs to sit outside. The next person of age is 3 or four years older. Dadiet doesn’t fit this team
Hart was 0-7. Missed 4 layups really. Two were blocks. Mitch missed a dunk and layup. Knicks put up 5 more shots than Warriors 88-83. Warriors put up 22 FTs to Knicks 13. Gee I wonder why ??
Bridges is still not showing up consistently.
4 of those free throws Warriors put up were Knicks fouling on purpose to extend the game. So it was 18 to 13. The Refs were not calling fouls for both teams. Both teams were complaining on no calls.
Truth I don’t like to call out refs. Cause Teams should know what they are up against. When game starts. You know what I mean right. Like Hart going to basket not getting calls. In NY he gets those. In a tight gm everything matters right. So you look at it all, I do. Towns let Dra get to him. Big mistake. And why doesnt he post more. Especially him this game. Could of got him in foul trouble. Instead it went the other way. My biggest criticism with Thibs. Is not posting more. When you have the advantage. You make it easier for them to play D. I think both teams played good D. In a close game. You have to win the small battles. Jimmy has brought that to Warriors. Playing to win. Good game still pissed.
Warrior players were not getting calls too. After the game Kerr said it was a good test going into a very physical game and knowing the Refs are not calling fouls. You got to expect it in the playoffs. Curry had a cut under his eye after the game. Its a problem when one team get the ticky calls and the other team doesn’t but that didn’t happen yesterday.
Warriors were fouled only 9 times before Knicks fouled them twice in closing seconds.
Warriors are most fouled team in league since Butler arrived, 9 fouls would be the lowest in any game he’s played.
Also fouls they missed or didn’t call. Like I said in a close game. You look at everything. Knicks missed shots. Even if it was goid D. That’s on them.
In the televised games against OKC, BOS, and CLE, Hart looks consistently overmatched as a starter. The block on him by Kuminga yesterday on his breakaway was typical. Before Hart got to the Knicks, he was always considered a high quality rotation player, not a starter on a contending team.
If the Knicks are going to get to the next level, they’ll need to find a more dynamic player to complement Brunson — somebody that can both handle and pass, and with enough size. McBride is too small to be more than a bench player.
Even Knick fans will tell you Hart is a 6th man off the bench. McBride is just a back up to Brunson which he does a good job at.
FankenStein never has insight. Always therapy for him. Yet still fumbles and tumbles consistently. Shades himself like a true genius.
Towns should of put 40 on DirtyDra. And he was still the high scorer of the game )29). 57.1% FG, 60% 3pt
Curry shot 40% FG and 30.6% 3pt ….McD
8 gms left in March. Bucks only gm to worry about.
Knowing Jalen he will go after 2/3 wks. Been out since March 6. End of March, even better April. Sounds good to me. Schedule is tough in April. I can see him back March 28 @ Bucks or March 30 for Blazers. Most likely home game with Blazers.
Knicks Team D has been much better with Mitch back. Still getting better with gm shape. McBride has had some good games. Should help for stretch run with Jalen back. Bench still not ther. TJ TJ
Al, do you agree that EVERY observer says this about the Knicks right now:
– very good team, well-coached, and win all games against inferior teams
– have failed to beat top teams: 0-11 against BOS, OKC, CLE, LA and GSW
– moment of truth doesn’t come until the 2nd round of playoffs
Everybody expects the Knicks to finish 3rd and win the 1st round of the playoffs. Some folks might care whether they avoid getting blown out in their remaining games against BOS and CLE, which would help their confidence a lot.
I wouldn’t assume they get pass the first round if they play the Pistons. Would be a tough series with 2 teams that win on defense.
arc89 – The Pistons look good, but I believe the Knicks are substantially better. But maybe I’m under-estimating the Pistons.
When it comes to defense a defensive team can always upset a team in the playoffs. knicks are a hard team to figure out. Their starting 5 is as good as any team but their bench is questionable.
arc89 , I thought the Knicks could give the Celtics some competition at the beginning of the season, but not any more. This is a well-coached, gritty team with a high bottom and low ceiling.
IMO, the starting 5 is not “as good as any”. Offensively, they are top 5. But Brunson and Towns are under-average defensively, and good teams have shown how easily they can be attacked (as we saw yesterday with Towns). Hart rebounds well for a guard, but he can’t compete with athletic 3’s and 4’s. Watch the Knicks games against OKC, Boston, and Philly to see how overmatched those 5 starters look.
As a Thibodeau team, I expect the Knicks to over-perform in the regular season, win in the 1st round by virtue of execution and effort, and lose in the 2nd round to better talent. I think the Knicks will be heavily favored in the 1st round no matter who they play.
i see the same thing you see on this Knicks team. I also see Celtics and Cavs so much better than any other team in the East. That will make for a great finals if both of them are in it. Cavs are a little better team but has the experience. Cavs only negative is their inexperience in the playoffs.
I don’t consider LA or GS a top team. Knicks beat either in a seven game series. At full strength. Both LA and GS are better now. Minny or Memphis beats either one in playoffs. Knicks have handled both well (Minny, Memphis) and Denver.
By now you must know I don’t care what so calked experts say. I watch all the games. So I can see where we are. And I’m not a blind homer.
A full Knicks team, Mitch in gm shape. And adding TJ. Which is what this team will be for playoffs. Only Cavs and Celtics are better. Not worried about the West. Since you ask only team in West I consider better in a 7 game series. Is OKC. But I like Denver, Minny, Memphis. All capable of beating anyone. But can they win a chip ????
Knicks matchup well with Cavs. Not as well with Celtics. A full Knicks team can beat the Celtics in playoffs. Especially if they don’t have KP. Reality says I see Cavs in Finals. Not sure about West.
Knicks goal this year. Was to become a contender. A good showing in playoffs confirms that. Fix the bench and they compete for Chip. For next 5 yrs. Thats what I see.
Going to be another disappointing year for you because I don’t see the Knicks as a championship team. Lakers and GS could beat them in a 7 game series. Its going to be hard for the Knicks to fix that bench with how little money they will have to sign a FA. They are like every team in the NBA the new CBA will keep them from building a bench.
Yeah that’s an issue. You count on guys adapting better. Young guys growing like Cavs team are doing. McBride can still be better. Great on D. Inconsistent on O. Personally I don’t get Thibs use of Precious. I like him. Should be part of steady rotation. Mitch is the key in a trade. Hukporti and Kolek leveling up. I like Dadiet. Very young. Fundamentally sound player. Great size at his position. We got some options. Then you can find a vet who wants to win. Vet minimum. This yr ain’t over yet. TJ could save the bench.
Al, spoken like a true Knicks fan. I applaud that.
But from the outside:
– W-L of 0-11 against the 5 current oddsmakers’ favorites to win a Chip says more than anybody’s opinion
– that’s 0-2 against GSW, home and away
– under Thibs, NY has never won > 1 playoff series
– Thibs hasn’t won a 2nd round playoff in 15 years
Thibs is 67, by far the oldest active NBA coach. The issues with Bridges and Hart portend that an early playoff loss may be his swan song. This is too big a payroll for an also-ran.
The NYK will be fine as long as Brunson is back and relatively healthy for the last 6-8 games. Otherwise, no, but that was always going to be the case.
In the interim, they don’t need to concern themselves too much with lack of a single guy to set the offense, or even the W/L record honestly. Just on the defense, and offensive rebounding, particularly getting Mitch in game shape and assimilated on both ends, and figuring out what PA’s role will be. The NYK offense was at the top of the league with Brunson (btw 1st and 3rd since the second month of the year), and that will almost certainly be the case again when he returns.
Brunson missing. Has exposed their offense to me. They are not as consistent as first half of season. Not as much ball movement Too reliant on dribbling instead of passing and cutting. McBride not consistent scoring or running team. Gms he looks great. Gms he just disappears. Mitch is coming along. Missing TJ man. Only move we got.
You’re right, but do you care what we are without Brunson? Right now, I don’t. Anyway, the worst of it should be over with the road trip. It was 2-2 without him, not 0-4, and all the games were winnable, we just didn’t have a cohesive closing unit (which figured).
Not ideal, we needed to turn the full attention to defense, and now we’re forced to divert attention to an alternative offense without Brunson. But, the good news is the half-court defense was great last night. I think McBride will emerge stronger from this, but he’s not a spoke in a wheel type PG, so he gets help from his veteran teammates in faciliating for the team. They can all do it, including the C, KAT. They’re home, they can practice now, I’ll be surprised if things aren’t more structured going forward.