Entering 2024, the New York Knicks were arguably the best team in the NBA. They have dominated their opponents every night, but the last few weeks have been difficult due to injuries.
The Knicks have been without Mitchell Robinson since early December and their starting forward duo of OG Anunoby and Julius Randle have been sidelined since January 27th. Other players have since missed games here and there, leaving Tom Thibodeau extremely short-handed on a regular basis.
A big reason why they haven’t plummeted in the Eastern Conference standings, as they still hold third place, has been the performance of NBA All-Star point guard, Jalen Brunson. On Sunday night, the Knicks’ worst nightmare became reality.
On the team’s first possession of the game, Brunson went down, writhing in pain. He appeared to suffer a non-contact left knee injury, which led people to assume the worst. Non-contact injuries are the worst, as it normally means something serious has occurred.
Brunson was struggling to get off the field, needing assistance from his teammates and coaches to get into the locker room. The only update given during the game was that he was dealing with left knee soreness and a return was questionable. In the third quarter he was officially excluded.
New York managed an upset victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-98 despite Brunson exiting 47 seconds into the game. All attention shifted to him after the match, as people wondered how serious his injury was.
Based on initial reports, it does not appear that the situation was as bad as initially thought. After the game, Thibodeau revealed that x-rays were negative and that Brunson is dealing with a left knee contusion.