Jalen Brunson made his return to the New York Knicks after missing 16 games with an ankle injury.
On April 6, the New York Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns, 112-98. Devin Booker scored 40 points for Phoenix, but OG Anunoby answered with an uber-efficient 32 points. On top of a generally well-rounded game for the Knicks, it was too much for the Suns to handle.
Jalen Brunson made his return after missing 16 games with an ankle injury. During that span, New York went 10-6, and Brunson was clearly struggling in his return.
The All-Star guard finished with just 15 points and six assists while making only one of his four shots from deep.
Despite coming back from a lengthy injury absence, Brunson played 34 minutes, prompting some concern about Tom Thibodeau overworking his star player. However, not everyone saw it as a bad thing.
The Knicks, as with any team led by Thibodeau, are not known for resting their stars. Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are the league leaders in minutes played, and Brunson is expected to return to his 35-minute-per-game average before the postseason.
With the Knicks poised for a first-round game against the physical Milwaukee Bucks, they will need Brunson to be healthy in a challenging matchup.
“It’s a lot of minutes, but this is Tom Thibodeau and this is what he’s going to do,” said Chandler Parsons on FanDuel’s Run It Back.
“In his defense, we are missing this much time with the playoffs coming, you need to get your rhythm back.
“You see last night it’s great to have him back in the line-up, but he was inefficient, he needs time to get his legs, actual game shape, cardio back, and maybe he needs more minutes and less games getting him back to where he was. No minute restriction is a good thing, I think we have got to look at this as a positive.”
Thibodeau is famous for leaving Derrick Rose in a game despite it being a blowout, resulting in a career-altering ACL tear. However, the Knicks are title contenders and need Brunson to be healthy, giving the coach some room to roll the dice.
The Knicks have four games left: they will take on the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Brooklyn Nets.
They are only three games ahead of the Indiana Pacers for the third seed in the Eastern Conference, who also have four games left. While the Pacers have to play the Cavs twice, it is possible that Indiana will pass New York in the standings.
In order to avoid that and enter the postseason with the best chance possible to advance as deep as possible, the Knicks need to be at full strength, which means leaning on Brunson.
This season, New York is a perfect 3-0 against the Bucks. However, they are 1-2 against the Pistons, and if the Pacers pass them, the chances of them getting out of the first round dwindle.
There will be no rest for Brunson. The Knicks can’t afford it.
