Knicks and their fans had better hope Jalen Brunson heals quickly
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks looks on from the bench during a game against the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Just how bad is Jalen Brunson's left calf contusion?
Nearly every member of the crestfallen crowd at the Knicks’ Martin Luther King Day game has to be wondering about that after watching the Brunson-less Knicks fall apart in the final minutes in a 98-94 loss to a struggling Orlando Magic team.
If there were any doubt that Brunson is the most important player on the Knicks, it has been put to rest over the last three days.
They are 1-1 since Brunson got kicked in the calf in the final quarter of the team’s loss in Dallas last Thursday. And that one win is nothing to be proud of as it came against the injury-decimated Grizzlies.
Brunson hadn’t missed a game this season until he was a late scratch in Memphis on Saturday. He was out on the court a couple of hours before Monday’s game going through his routine, but it was decided that he couldn’t play.
“I trust him,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “When he’s ready to go, he’ll let us know.”
Knicks fans hope that happens soon, because their team that was playing so well after the team traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley for OG Anunoby is now struggling to create and score without Brunson in the lineup.
The Knicks had an 11-point lead in the third quarter but fell apart in the fourth, scoring one point in just over six minutes as the Magic turned a seven-point deficit into a late five-point lead. Without Brunson in the lineup, Orlando was free to load up on Julius Randle, the Knicks' only remaining All-Star candidate, and Randle turned in an ugly 5-for-18 shooting performance. He also missed two big free throws with the Knicks trailing by one point late in the game.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for Orlando, which started off the season well but had been struggling lately. Magic coach Jamahl Mosley had to know just how much of a break his team was getting by catching the Knicks without Brunson in the lineup. Mosley, a Mavericks assistant coach when Brunson was on the team, sang the guard’s praises before Monday’s game.
“He’s a stud. He’s an All-Star. He’s a winner. He’s tough,” Mosley said. “He’s about all the right things. He cares about his team. He cares about his family. It’s no surprise that he’s doing what he’s capable of doing [with the Knicks] . . . He’s a winner. He finds a way, whether that’s scoring, that’s moving it, that’s playing defense or that’s taking charges. He’s doing all of that because he’s about winning.”
Brunson’s injury couldn’t come at a less opportune time with the Knicks getting ready to play Toronto on Saturday. Knicks fans have been supportive of the addition of Anunoby in the trade with the Raptors, but there continues to be a lot of moaning about the fact that the Knicks included Quickley in the deal. Though Deuce McBride played well in place of Brunson on Monday, following up a career-high 19-point effort against Memphis with 20 points, the Knicks could have used Quickley, an experienced player with the ability to create.
Thibodeau called Brunson’s injury a day-to-day situation, but it’s fair to say the Knicks have been cagey in the past when it comes to revealing the seriousness of injuries. It's not just Brunson’s 25.8 points and 6.4 assists per game the Knicks are lacking. It’s the fact that he knows how to make things happen, giving his teammates the confidence they need to gut out games in crunch time.
“It’s obviously more difficult without him,” Josh Hart said. “You’re missing 25 a game and you’re missing someone who can control the pace of the game. So obviously that’s difficult to replace. While he’s out, we’ve got to figure out plays that get guys in position to be successful — playing faster, having more pace so we’re not stagnant.
“That’s something we gotta figure out. I don’t know what his timeline is, but we gotta figure that out.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
