Jalen Brunson was rusty in his return on Sunday after missing 15 games with a badly sprained ankle, but he did enough to help the Knicks close out a win against Phoenix, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Brunson scored 15 points on the night, with seven of them coming in the final two minutes to shut down a late Suns rally.
“I could be better, could be worse,” Brunson said. “A lot of room for improvement on my end, obviously. I’m surprised about the conditioning part. I thought that would be a lot worse, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Mentally … just making sure I can trust myself in the things that I do. Everyone always talks about the physical part (of coming back from injury), but mentally, it’s about trusting your movements, the way you play and not second-guessing yourself. That was a huge adjustment, but I’m feeling a lot better.”
The Knicks now have a fully healthy rotation for the first time as they head into the final week of the season. At 50-28 and with the No. 3 seed virtually locked up, coach Tom Thibodeau wants to use that time as early preparation for the playoffs.
“As you head down the stretch, you want to check boxes,” Thibodeau said. “You want a winning record at home, winning record on the road. Fifty wins is good, and you want the highest seed possible. And then you want to be playing well. We’re going step by step. We’re not skipping over anything. This is the approach that we’ve taken all season long, so we’re not going to change now. We feel like this will help prepare us for what’s down the road.”
There’s more from New York:
- Brunson’s return didn’t slow down the scoring tear that OG Anunoby has been on, Edwards adds. Anunoby shredded the Phoenix defense for 32 points while shooting 13-of-17 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range. He’s averaging 24.9 PPG over the last three weeks.
- Miles McBride also returned Sunday after missing eight games with a groin injury. With Brunson back and Cameron Payne recently returning from a sprained ankle, Edwards notes that the Knicks suddenly have an abundance of guards and Thibodeau faces some difficult decisions regarding playing time. He used a nine-man rotation on Sunday, with Landry Shamet filling the final spot. Delon Wright, who filled in as a starter while Brunson and Payne were sidelined, didn’t play, nor did Precious Achiuwa, who has seen regular minutes as a backup big man for most of the season.
- The Knicks should resist any temptation to trade for Suns star Kevin Durant, who is expected to be shopped this summer, advises Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscription required). Durant remains an elite scorer at age 36, but Vaccaro notes that he spurned the Knicks in free agency in 2019 and likely wouldn’t be worth the price it would take to acquire him.
Agreed on Durant. I keep hearing his name come up with the Knicks as a probable suitor but I would stay away.
KD can’t be your bus driver
Whatever tied the NYK to deadline discussion on KD, I doubt it suggests the NYK would be an off season suitor for KD. He doesn’t fit the timeline of the current NYK core, nor would his skill set address the current team’s biggest concerns, which are on defense.
Durant is irrelevant. I can see him in Miami as he prepares for retirement.
Knicks have Celtics, Pistons, Cavs in a row. Be nice to win all three. Pistons only ones with something to prove. Knicks come to play and use their bench. They can do it. At least make it respectable. Celtics are their 2nd rd opponent. They need to show up for them. I hope Thibs doesn’t overwork the starters.
Knicks had all year to work on bench. They had to wait on Mitch. But they pretty much knew that. Not happy how Thibs handled Achiuwa. Not happy how he handled bench mins. You are who you are. At some point you have to accept that. So Thibs should have been playing guys mins. So now for playoffs they are more ready. We all know injuries play into every team. Knicks failed at getting this group (bench) ready. Lowest scoring in NBA. Starters avg most mins in NBA. Knicks also failed TJ. He waited all year tor his shot. Even if he is not the player he was. As the 10-12 man does it really matter. Better to have him and not need him that to not have him and need him. BENCH SCORING … makes no sense to me.
KD rumors and stories are like bottoms. Everyone has one and him going to the Knicks. Always use NY to get more views and attention. This shhh is old.
KD at 36 should go to OKC. That’s the real move. Put a small market team on MAP by winning three Titkes. He fits perfect there. KD will be traded. He’s not winning anywhere except OKC.
We don’t want anything to do with KD. Stay away
Every year KD is available he is going to Knicks. Lets just recycle the old stories. And run them again. Got nothing against him. Just never been right for him and Knicks. KD and Kyrie thought they could run NY. And show up Knicks. Two uninformed PrimaDonnas. Who don’t get, most of us know more ball than they do. As they showed the world by their Massive Failures in Bklyn. Only thing they did in Bklyn was steal money. And run away like the Biahhhs they are.
I wasn’t big on Towns. Only moving Randle made plenty sense. KAT has worked well here. His D is still not good enough for me. But it is better than Minny.
The real trade Knicks Should be looking at. If they want to upgrade team. Is a 2way big (PF) talent like AD. Play him with Mitch. Then have Hart strengthen the bench. We know this could never be. You look at Sabonis who is younger. You start him with Mitch n OG. And have Hart as your sixth man. Now this is a huge upgrade. Lose nothing on offense. And become a top defensive team again. Plus Knicks can fet another player back with Domanatas. NY knows who his dad was. They will love him. Thats how you upgrade team. Stop with KD nonsense. Team building not pkug in stars …. Team Building
Towns, Hukporti, Kolek >>>> to Kings
Sabonis, Valanciunas, #1 pick >>>> to Knicks
The closest I ever want to be to KD is to name all my Durants “Kevin” on Pokemon Go