Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson remains on the shelf for another week as he continues to recover from a sprained right ankle. He has missed New York’s last eight games with the ailment.
Per Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post, one benefit of the New York star’s absence has been extended run for some the club’s younger backcourt role players.
“You are not replacing Jalen individually,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It’s impossible. We have to do it collectively with our defense and rebounding and playing together.”
With Brunson’s normal backup Miles McBride a late scratch ahead of Saturday’s Washington clash due to a strained groin, veteran Cameron Payne drew the starter, while rookie Tyler Kolek logged a career-most 18 minutes, while dishing out seven dimes. Kolek often fed forward Mikal Bridges, who was in the midst of a solid shooting run.
“It was big-time for us having Ty out there finding ’Kal constantly,” Payne said.
There’s more out of New York:
Tyler Kolek‘s big night has made him an intriguing possibility for backup minutes behind Brunson going forward. Dexter Henry and Bryan Fonseca of The New York Post wonder if he could wind up being the Knicks’ best reserve option for Brunson sooner rather than later, and what his path for consistent rotation run might look like.
Kolek will probably get another shot at major minutes for the Knicks again on Tuesday, as Miles McBride is considered likely to sit out Tuesday’s showdown with Dallas due to the groin contusion, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (via Twitter). When healthy, McBride has been solid for New York this season. In 59 available bouts, he’s averaging 9.4 points, while posting shooting splits of .407/.371/.817.
At 44-26 on the year, the Knicks seem to be more or less locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 overall seed. Three clubs are jockeying for the right secure homecourt advantage and the No. 4 seed behind them. The 41-29 Pacers are currently in that slot, just one game up on the 40-30 Bucks, and 2.5 games ahead of the 39-32 Pistons. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic unpacks the pluses and minuses of each of those clubs as potential first-round playoff foes for New York, and identifies the team that should ultimately be the Knicks’ preferred matchup.