The New York Knicks have had a rough go of it in the weeks since point guard Jalen Brunson injured his ankle in a road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. New York has since dropped puzzling contests against the San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets, among others, but are still entrenched firmly in the Eastern Conference's third seed.
Of course, any chances that the Knicks have of making noise this postseason rise and fall with Brunson's playing status, and recently, head coach Tom Thibodeau gave an optimistic update regarding just that, per Ian Begley of SNY.
“He’s doing more and more each day. He’s feeling a lot better,” Thibodeau said recently. “So really good progress. But day-to-day, basically.”
Thibodeau also noted that Brunson is “doing a lot of shooting, working the pool, working the bike. Stuff like that. So his conditioning is pretty good actually,” and that being cleared for practice is likely the next step in his recovery process.
Begley added that Brunson's rehab is “progressing faster than initially anticipated.”
Good news for the Knicks
In the two-plus weeks since Brunson's injury, the Knicks have demonstrated that they are not much of a threat without their best player on the court. Just hours after a puzzling blowout road loss to what's left of the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks lost to the Charlotte Hornets, before finally recovering with a blowout home win over the Washington Wizards this weekend.
Ankle injuries can be tricky to navigate in the NBA, as bringing back a player too soon can cause them to perform at a less than ideal level even when they are back in the lineup, as Los Angeles Lakers fans found out when LeBron James returned in time for the 2021 NBA playoffs.
In any case, the Knicks will next take the floor on Tuesday evening at home vs Brunson's former team, the Dallas Mavericks. That game is slated to tip off at 7:30 PM ET from Madison Square Garden.
