Knicks at Lakers: Will Jalen Brunson Return From Injury?

With LeBron James already out and Jalen Brunson still nursing a foot injury, Sunday's showdown between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers could be denied some major star power.

It's a good thing the Oscars are in town, as the stars aren't flocking to Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. 

With LeBron James, the face of the hosting Los Angeles Lakers, already out for two more weeks, the New York Knicks announced that their own star, point guard Jalen Brunson, would miss the team's Sunday visit to Southern California (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). The confirmation heralds Brunson's third absence over the past four games, the medical issues stemming from a foot injury sustained in last Friday's win over Miami. Soreness has been listed as the specific reason behind Brunson's continued disappearances. 

Though the Knicks (39-30) have been more or less capable of holding their own with Brunson out (including last weekend's thrilling double-overtime win over the Boston Celtics), the team has been mired in a three-game losing streak that has seen their star acquisition play only 19 minutes, all of them coming in the first half of Thursday's loss in Sacramento. Overall, the Knicks are 3-4 when Brunson doesn't play at all.

Sunday's game is a tale of two squads going in opposite directions without their franchise face: whereas the Knicks have floundered sans Brunson, the Lakers (33-34) have gone 4-2 since James hit the injury list and have jumped into postseason contention in the Western Conference, currently holding the penultimate spot in the  With a win on Sunday, the Lakers will hit .500 for the first time this season. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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