Jalen Brunson returned to the New York Knicks after missing 16 games with an ankle injury.
On April 6th, the New York Knicks defeated the Phoenix Suns, 112-98. Devin Booker scored 40 points for Phoenix, while OG Anunoby responded with a highly Uber-efficient 32 points. In addition to the generally well-balanced game for the Knicks, there was too much for the Sun to handle.
Jalen Brunson went home after missing 16 games due to an ankle injury. During that period, New York was 10-6, with Branson clearly struggling to get back.
The All-Star Guard finished with just 15 points and six assists, making only one of the four shots from the deep.
Despite returning from a long absence of injuries, Branson played 34 minutes, igniting concerns about Tom Thibodeau’s employing a star player. But not everyone saw it as a bad thing.
The Knicks are not known for resting stars, like the team led by Thibodeau. Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are league leaders of minutes to play, and Branson is expected to return to his 35-minute game average before the postseason.
The Knicks are preparing for a first-round match against the physical Milwaukee Bucks, so Branson needs to be healthy in a challenging matchup.
“There’s a lot of it, but this is Tom Thibodeau and this is what he’s trying to do,” Chandler Parsons said at Fundererels. Please do so.
“In his defense, we have missed so much time with the playoffs coming, so we need to get back to our rhythm.
“It’s great that he’s coming back to the lineup last night, but he’s inefficient, he needs time to get his feet, the shape of the actual game, cardio, and maybe he needs to need more numbers to get him back where he was.
Thibodeau is famous for leaving Derrick Rose despite Dorick Rose being blown away, which results in a tear in ACL. However, the Knicks are title contenders, and Branson needs to be healthy, and there’s room for coaches to roll the dice.
The Knicks have four games left. They will accommodate the Boston Celtics, Detroit Piston, Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Net.
They’re three games ahead of the third-seeded Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference, with four remaining games remaining. The Pacers have to play the Cavs twice, but Indiana could pass New York in the rankings.
The Knicks need to be fully powered to avoid that and enter the postseason with the best possible chance to move forward as deeply as possible.
New York is a perfect 3-0 against the Bucks this season. But they’re 1-2 against the pistons and if the pacers pass them they could potentially get out of the first round of reduction.
Branson has no rest. The Knicks can’t afford it.