Knicks Injuries: Will Jalen Brunson Play at Indiana on Wednesday?

The New York Knicks are playing it safe when it comes to their top talents at the start of a meaningless final stretch.

Jalen Brunson has built a reputation of healthy stubbornness when it comes to staying in the New York Knicks' starting lineup. The first-year New Yorker, however, won't go down without a fight when it comes to meaningless basketball, however.

The Knicks announced that Brunson will not play in Wednesday's game against the Indiana Pacers (7 p.m. ET, MSG) due to "right-hand maintenance." While Brunson dealt with a hand issue last month, one that cost him seven games, it doesn't take much to gather that the point guard is the latest "victim" of load management. 

It's a decision made for fairly obvious reasons: the Knicks (46-33) cannot go up or down on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, locked into fifth place and an upcoming series against the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. New York has also had poorly-timed luck with injuries: it's unsure whether All-Star Julius Randle will be available for the postseason opener while RJ Barrett missed Sunday's playoff-clinching win over Washington with an illness. Barrett is set to be labeled questionable for the visit to Indianapolis, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

The Knicks have handled themselves fairly well without Brunson this season, going 6-5 when he's forced to sit. 

Star power will be at a premium at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday: the Pacers (34-45) are eliminated from any form of postseason contention and will be missing their own All-Star Tyrese Haliburton (ankle) while leading rebounder Myles Turner (ankle) is questionable. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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