Knicks’ Jalen Bronson will likely miss the rest of the current road trip
The New York Knicks are facing an uphill climb to stop a three-game skid without their starting point guard and arguably their best player, Jalen Bronson.
New York head coach Tom Thibodeau said Brunson struggles daily with a bruised left foot, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski painted a bleak picture for the Knicks as they progress into their current trip down the West Coast.
“I’ve been told it’s increasingly unlikely that the Knicks will pick up running back Jalen Bronson for the last two games of this wild ride down the West Coast. [Sunday] Against the Lakers on ABC, then Tuesday, in Portland, and then they took a three-day break.”
The Knicks are 3-4 without Bronson this season.
Julius Randle relapsed Saturday during a failed comeback attempt against the Clippers without Bronson’s calm leadership.
Saturday’s loss propelled the Knicks to sixth place in the Eastern Conference behind their close rivals the Brooklyn Nets, who have won three of their last four games.
Thibodeau said Bronson’s foot injury is not the same as the one Grimes sustained early in the season when he missed the entirety of training camp and its six games.
Without Bronson for so long, the Knicks, who featured a postseason berth lock a week ago, are suddenly vulnerable.
Bronson’s injury came at the worst possible time. The Knicks have the ninth-easiest schedule remaining, but their next five games, including Sunday night’s game against the rookie Lakers, are the most challenging part.
After the Sunday Lakers and Trail Blazers on Tuesday, the Western Conference-ranked Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves await them.
If they can’t pull themselves together and survive Bronson’s absence on this West Coast trip, they could find themselves fighting for a proper tournament spot rather than home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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