Knicks star PG Jalen Brunson day in and day out with a bruised left foot
The New York Knicks dodged a curveball as Jalen Bronson’s X-ray came back negative.
Bronson’s return is still unknown, but New York coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters before facing the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday that his starting point is “feeling a little bit better.”
Bronson missed his seventh game of the season, but there is optimism he’ll be back sooner rather than later.
“When he’s healthy, he’s gone,” Thibodeau said. “So just do rehab, talk to the doctors, and when he’s cleared, he’s cleared, and then he’ll play.”
The Knicks are 6-6 without Bronson on Saturday and they’ll need a team effort from the rest of the team to fill his big shoes.
Bronson’s stellar role is one of the main reasons the Knicks climbed to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. In his first season with the Knicks, Bronson averaged 23.8 points and 6.1 assists in 34.9 minutes per game, all career highs, with a shooting split of 49/41/83.
His absence now threatens their place in the playoffs.
After the Clippers, the Knicks had two more games on this wild ride — the Lakers on Sunday and the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Julius Randle thinks the team will be just fine without Bronson. For that to happen, Emmanuel Kwikli has to step up as he did in Boston last Sunday.
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