Superstar Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson’s sprained right ankle is making “really good progress,” but the team will continue to take things slow to ensure he is 100% healthy for the playoffs.
“He’s doing more and more each day,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s feeling a lot better, so really good progress, but day-to-day, basically.”
Brunson has been out since he suffered the injury late during a March 8 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the eight games without him entering Tuesday night’s matchup with the Dallas Mavericks, the Knicks were 4-4 — treading water as they hold on to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Per Thibodeau, the likely next step in Brunson’s recovery will be getting cleared to practice. He has worked individually as of late shooting and working in the pool and on the bike.
On Saturday, the team disclosed that he will be officially re-evaluated in a week, meaning this upcoming weekend. No official timetable has been disclosed, but the belief is that he will return before the end of the regular season. Following Tuesday night’s game against the Mavericks, New York will have 11 games to go before the start of the playoffs.
Getting Brunson back and right is a must to garner any hopes of a deep postseason run. He garnered All-Star starting honors for the first time in his career this season, averaging 26.3 points and 7.4 assists per game.
The Knicks’ backcourt has been thinned out even more so after backup Miles McBride was forced to miss the last two games due to a groin injury. It has forced Thibodeau to start veteran floor general Cameron Payne and give rookie second-round pick Tyler Kolek some extended run.
During Saturday’s blowout win against the Washington Wizards, Payne continued to step up when called upon, recording 13 points with seven assists in 30 minutes of play.
“Shout out to Cam,” star center Karl-Anthony Towns said. “He stepped in like a true professional and led us. He gave us the spark we needed, without that kind of start from him I don’t know how this game goes.”
Kolek received a season-high 18 minutes, recording four points while adding eight assists.
“Tyler gave us great minutes,” Thibodeau said. “We built the lead which allowed Cam to get some rest there. It was more how the team was functioning. We stayed organized and he was making the right reads. It was good to see, he’s done a good job for us.”
