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Knicks Offer Positive Jalen Brunson Update

The New York Knicks dropped to 3-5 without Jalen Brunson this month.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Dec 5, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) passes the ball as Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin (11) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Dec 5, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) passes the ball as Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin (11) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images
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Amidst a teal beatdown, a silver lining emerged for the New York Knicks on Thursday at Spectrum Center.

Shortly before the Knicks took the floor for what became a 115-98 defeat at the hands of the lowly Charlotte Hornets, head coach Tom Thibodeau offered a somewhat optimistic update on the health of franchise face Jalen Brunson. The Knicks' primary point guard has been out since March 6 with an ankle injury sustained in a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"The only thing I'd say is that he's doing light shooting and he's out of the boot, so steady progress and we'll see where it goes from there."

Thursday marked exactly two weeks since Brunson originally endured the injury, as he landed awkwardly while driving for an overtime double against Austin Reaves. The Knicks announced that he would be re-evaluated in 14 days after he was hurt but Shams Charania of ESPN reported that late March or early April would be a more realistic return point for the metropolitan captain.

With the postseason looming and the Knicks (43-26) struggling to keep things right without Brunson, it's fair to wonder if he'll be able to take the floor at any points over the last 13 games. Thibodeau hinted that Brunson's full health will remain the primary concern moving forward.

"Whenever he's ready, he's ready," Thibodeau declared. "He's putting a lot into his rehab. That's what he can control right now so that's where we want his focus to be. Hopefully we can get some games where he works his way back into it."

This week perhaps truly reminded the Knicks just how valuable Brunson is to a championship cause: brutal bookends have defined recent games as New York dropped one-sided decisions to likely lottery-bound teams from San Antonio and Charlotte. Having dropped both stages of a back-to-back, the Knicks fell to 3-5 over this recent Brunson-less stretch.

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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