The consequence of playing without two high impact starters is finally taking its toll on the Knicks.
When they host the Sacramento Kings tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks will be seeking to end a three-game losing streak, having succumbed to the San Antonio Spurs in overtime on the road last Friday 130-126, followed by a 113-112 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder at home on Sunday, and then falling to the Miami Heat in South Florida on Tuesday 109-99.
The Knicks had won seven of eight games immediately preceding their current losing streak. When the NBA schedule tipped-off last night, they were 44-31 and tied in record with the 44-31 Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference, both 1 1/2 games behind the No. 3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, which were 46-30, reflecting the fluid nature of the playoff race in the season’s closing days. The Knicks have seven regular season games remaining. They have played the last 29 without All-NBA power forward Julius Randle and 26 of their last 29 absent one of the league’s best two-way wing players in OG Anunoby. Randle is still recovering from a dislocated right shoulder injured on January 27 versus the Heat.
Anunoby sustained a right elbow injury in the same game, had subsequent surgery, played in three games and has been back on the sidelines since re-injuring it on March 16 versus the Kings. He is officially listed as having right elbow tendinopathy.
Center Mitchell Robinson has returned to the active roster and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is gradually working him back into the rotation. He had left ankle surgery in December and played 10 minutes off of the bench on Tuesday, going scoreless with one rebound. So the burden of carrying the team to the finish line has fallen on MVP candidate Jalen Brunson. The point guard will be certainly named to one of the three All-NBA teams this season, leading the Knicks at 27.8 points per game and 6.6 assists. His sensational 61-point outburst versus the Spurs was one point short of Carmelo Anthony’s franchise record of 62 points achieved on Jan. 24, 2014.
On Tuesday, Brunson was honored as the Eastern Conference’s NBA Player of the Month for March, averaging 28.8 points and 5.8 assists and lifting the Knicks to a 9-5 record.
“Sometimes I think he gets overlooked,” said Thibodeau prior to his team playing the Heat. “And you’re making a big mistake because maybe he doesn’t look the part, but he is the part. And he plays his best in big moments. And he’s always trying to learn, grow and get better.
“He’s a great student of the game,” Thibodeau expanded. “And he’s driven beyond belief. The guy, there are no days off for him. And so he’s worked [for] and deserved everything he’s gotten because of the commitment he’s made. There are no shortcuts with this guy.”
After tonight, the Knicks will be on the road for their next four games, meeting up with the Chicago Bulls tomorrow, the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, the Bulls again next Tuesday and the Boston Celtics next Thursday.