The already depleted Knicks will go without two more prominent players tonight against New Orleans. All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson and center Isaiah Hartenstein won’t play, according to coach Tom Thibodeau.
Brunson woke up with neck spasms this morning after taking some hits in the controversial win over Detroit on Monday. Hartenstein is experiencing Achilles soreness, SNY TV’s Ian Begley relays. (Twitter links).
The Knicks have already been dealing with injuries to OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson.
We have more on the Knicks:
- Regarding those above-mentioned injured starters, The Athletic’s Shams Charania shared some updates on FanDuel’s Run It Back program: “I’m told [Randle’s] rehab is going well, his goal is still to play this season. He has not had any setbacks yet. … I’m told the hope – and pretty much the expectation – is over the next two to three weeks, OG Anunoby will be be back on the floor. … [Robinson] has got to keep hitting check marks, we know he’s been dealing with foot issues over the course of his career.”
- Health is one of the team’s major issues if it wants to make a sustained playoff run, The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy opines, adding that the Knicks will go as far as Brunson takes them.
- Carmelo Anthony is happy that his former agent, Knicks top exec Leon Rose, has mended fences with Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, according to The New York Post’s Peter Botte. Anthony made his comments during a “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast. “No matter what, you need New York. You can’t go around New York. You can try to, but you gotta come back here. Especially when you’re in certain industries. When you’re in music, when you’re in sports, you gotta come through New York. So when you don’t have no relationship with the Knicks, you ain’t got no relationship around. Your relationship game ain’t strong around the NBA. So I’m happy, that’s honorable that those parties came together and settled their differences, because it’s gonna benefit everybody in the industry.”
The injuries have been brutal, and now it’s going to take a toll on the bench. Hopefully everyone returns a few wild prior to the playoffs so the can regain some of that chemistry they were just building. Would’ve been interesting to see what could’ve been.
Yes the injuries are starting to show on court. It’s getting bad really. My issue is Thibs playing guys too many mins now. Which could cause more injuries. He’s trying to get wins. When he should be focused on the playoffs. Make sure you make it thru these tough times. Not overwork players. Have to make sure you are right by end of season. To me that’s most important now. I get wanting to finish top 4. For home court. It’s more important being right for the playoffs. Bench has to step up. Just have to trust the players you have. I’m just hoping Knicks stay top 6. Avoid the play in. Right now 8-4 in East are all bunched up. It’s best to make sure you are healthy. Then make a run at end of season. And get as high a seedling as you can. Get healthy !!!!!
NYK need to fill out the roster with some real players. They are using 14 of the 15 standard spots, but two of those are 10-day guys who have never played in the NBA (Jeffries and Toppin) and look like placeholders. 3 of the remaining 12 are out longer term, and 2 of the others were out last night. Brunson was likely just a one game thing, but Hartenstein’s issue is apparrently not going away. So, best case, going forward (until Anunoby returns) is that we have 8.5 players. OK if all are healthy, but guys miss games, and we can’t effectively forfeit every time a couple of them aren’t available.