Jalen Brunson has been out for a week-and-a-half at this point, and he may not even be halfway to a return yet.
Shams Charania of ESPN appeared Saturday on “NBA Countdown” and shared a notable update about the New York Knicks star Brunson. Charania reported that Brunson, who is currently recovering from an ankle injury, is looking at a three-to-four-week-minimum return timetable overall. That would thus sideline the All-Star guard through late March or early April.
Brunson, 28, was injured in a March 6 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was going up for a layup in overtime and badly turned his right ankle upon landing.
Charania had previously reported that Brunson would be out for “at least” two weeks. Now it sounds like Brunson’s true timeline may actually be around double that.
With averages of 26.3 points and 7.4 assists per game this season, Brunson is largely a one-man engine on offense for the Knicks. But ever since Brunson went down, the Knicks are 2-2 and have been held under 100 points multiple times now.
The good news for New York is that, at 42-24, they have a decent-sized cushion as the No. 3 seed in the East (No. 4 seed Milwaukee is still four games back at 38-28). But with 10 more games left between now and Brunson’s four-week point on Apr. 3, that cushion could evaporate very quickly.
The Knicks lost again on Saturday to the Golden State Warriors, and some cracks in team chemistry are seemingly beginning to emerge for them. With five of those next 10 games set to be played on the road, the Knicks have a lot of work to do just to tread water until Brunson gets back.
