Jalen Brunson sprains right ankle, will be examined Monday
Jericho Sims of the Knicks reacts after a basket during the fourth quarter against the Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 25. Credit: Jim McIsaac
In the first half Sunday, Jalen Brunson took a brutal fall, colliding with Keegan Murray and landing awkwardly and unprotected. He remained on the floor in pain as the Knicks called timeout — and by the time they broke the huddle and returned to the court, Brunson was with them.
But when Brunson defended a drive by Davion Mitchell and Mitchell rolled into his right leg with a little over nine minutes remaining, Brunson went down again. This time he suffered a sprained right ankle, limped to the locker room and was done for the night — and possibly longer.
"I didn’t get a chance to look at it,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But that’s what the medical [staff] sent back. I don’t know [if he can play Wednesday]. To be totally honest, we’ll see where he is tomorrow. I’ll get a further update from the medical when I get back in the locker room.”
Thibodeau has cut the Knicks' rotation, eliminating Evan Fournier earlier in the season and removing Derrick Rose and Cam Reddish for the last four games. Asked if Rose or Fournier could return to the rotation if Brunson is unavailable, Thibodeau said, “Everything is on the table. That’s why you have a team.”
Going big
When Thibodeau floated the notion, it seemed like a long shot, but on Friday, before the Knicks played their first game without injured Obi Toppin, he mentioned the possibility of playing Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims together to make up for Toppin’s minutes as a backup power forward.
RJ Barrett? Sure, he’d done it before. Reddish? He’d fit if he were freed from the bench. But the backup center and third-string center?
“I like the look,” Thibodeau said before Sunday’s game against Sacramento. “I thought the rebounding was really good. Second half we got some really good looks offensively.”
With their different skill sets, Thibodeau said they are interchangeable at those positions. Hartenstein is more of a four on offense with his outside shooting and passing skills; Sims is more agile and athletic defensively.
“Yeah, it depends on who they put their five on,” Thibodeau said. “So they are interchangeable from that standpoint. One guy will play away from the basket a little more than the other.”
Moment of silence
The Garden held a moment of silence before the game for Paul Silas, who passed away Sunday at 79. After a long playing career, Silas coached in numerous places and served as a Knicks assistant coach from 1989-92.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
