The Knicks have struggled lately largely due to injuries. Is it a good thing that this is happening now instead of the future?
As we all know, injuries can absolutely derail a team’s season, especially when they occur during or right before the playoffs. Recently, The Knicks have caught the injury bug over the past month and it’s progressively gotten worse. In the 100-118 blowout loss against the Magic this past Wednesday, they were missing six key players, with four of them being starters.
It’s rare to see a team deal with this amount of injuries but with the playoffs over a month away, maybe it’s a good thing that the Knicks get this out the way now.
A Chance to Heal
The NBA All-Star break has finally arrived and it couldn’t have come at a better time for this Knicks team. They have lost four straight and five out of their last six games heading into the break. Jalen Brunson has been forced to do literally everything on the offensive end for the Knicks during this tough time. In nine of the last ten games Brunson has played, he’s averaged 32.8 PPG and 6.7 APG while playing just over 37 minutes a game. This All-Star break allows Brunson rest and gives our injured players an extra week to heal up without any games being played.
The Knicks currently hold the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference and are only two games out of the 3rd seed. The All-Break stops the bleeding for next week and gives the Knicks time to reset. Fortunately, they could have some guys back on the court very soon.
Hopeful Returns
Thankfully, some of the Knicks injured players are trending in the right direction with their recovery and should be able to resume on court activities soon.
Unfortunately, it’s likely that Robinson( ankle) , Randle( dislocated shoulder) ,and Anunoby (elbow) will not play the rest of this month but they can be set to return in early March. If this is the case, they can get back into game shape while preparing for the playoffs. Also, this allows them enough time to build chemistry, which is something that hasn’t really been structured yet.
Since the trades and the unfortunate injuries that followed, some of these guys haven’t played together long or even been on the court with each other yet. The Knicks can use next month to develop chemistry and build momentum heading into the postseason. The timing of these potential returns can be huge for this team moving forward.
On the other hand, Donte Divencenzo (left hamstring), Bojan Bogdanovic (calf), and Isaiah Hartenstein( left achilles) were also inactive for Wednesday’s game. Currently, it’s unclear when they will return but hopefully it will be soon.
Ultimately, The Knicks just have to weather the storm until everyone is back on the court. Hopefully, the Knicks can get through this injury trend now so everyone can be ready to go when the postseason arrives. This next month should be an interesting one for the Knicks. We’ll see what happens.
Next Game
Feb 22nd Knicks @ 76ers (First game after the All Star Break)
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