Horror Movie in Hollywood

How will NY deal with Brunson being sidelined... Calling out Draymond Green for his disgusting, malicious comments about KAT.

Final Score: Knicks 109 - Lakers 113
Record: 40-22

There is no sense in burying the lede here. Yes, New York lost a heartbreaker to the Lakers last night, but the result of the contest was the last thing on many Knicks fans' minds this morning.

As we've stated time and time again in this newsletter, it's impossible to overstate Jalen Brunson's importance to his franchise. He's the team's best/most valuable player and the club's unquestioned leader on and off the floor. He is NY's entire crunch-time offense and the straw that stirs the drink nightly.

Which is why fans gasped when they saw the replays of Brunson's right ankle bending at an extremely awkward angle after he landed on Austin Reaves' foot in overtime.

Being the warrior he is, Brunson stayed in the game to take his free throws, converting both to tie the score at 107. It was the 13th straight point he had scored for New York over an eight-minute stretch spanning the end of the fourth quarter and the start of OT. However, JB limped off the court in obvious pain after knocking down the freebies. Unsurprisingly, the Knicks only scored two points over the final 94 seconds of the game, as LA escaped with a 113-109 win.

"Obviously, it's a bummer of an injury. We've got to expect him to be out for a little bit," Josh Hart told reporters last night. "We've got guys. Now, we have to step up. Other guys' roles are going to be bigger. There's more opportunity. Keep it afloat until he comes back, be aggressive, go out there and compete."

"It's for sure going to be an adjustment [without Brunson]. The last minute and a half we were a little stagnant, that was tough," Hart said. "Got to get some new plays, get other guys involved. You never want anyone to get hurt, but now this is an opportunity for other guys' names to be called. We have confidence in everybody here. We've got to go out and be aggressive, everyone step it up and compete."

The good news is that it sounds like Brunson's X-rays at the arena came back clean. NBA reporter Chris Hayes tweeted early this morning that "there's optimism" Brunson "only sustained a sprained ankle." But that does not mean JB is out of the woods. Now, we await the result of the MRI.

Is it a high ankle issue? Is it a Grade 1 sprain (minimal tenderness and swelling), Grade 2 (complete tears of some but not all collagen fibers in the ligament) or the worst case scenario, Grade 3 (severe, complete tear/rupture of ligament)?

Will he miss days/weeks/months?

Seems senseless to speculate at this point. We'll wait until we get additional information regarding the severity of the sprain. The issue of course is that the Knicks are about as transparent as a brick wall when it comes to injuries. We likely won't get an accurate/reliable update on Brunson's status until we see him in an actual basketball game.

The NBA playoffs begin on April 19th. That's 43 days away. If Brunson misses an extended period of time, can New York hold onto the #3 seed? The Bucks have won four straight and are just 3.5 games behind the Knicks in the standings, although New York does possess the tie-breaker between the two clubs.

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns returned from a one-game absence (more on that below) Thursday night, but was rendered ineffective by LA sticking a smaller wing defender on him most of the evening. KAT was just 3-of-13 from the floor, finishing with 12 points (3-of-13 FGs) and 14 rebounds in 42 minutes.

With Brunson sidelined, the Knicks coaching staff will have to do a much better job putting KAT in a position to succeed, and KAT needs to convert. Towns will have to step up in a big way for New York to stay afloat.

🏀 Mikal Bridges also needs to be far more productive/aggressive. Bridges was on the floor for 43 minutes last night, yet took just six shots (zero free throws) and ended the game with six points, three rebounds and three assists.

Over the last month (an 11-game sample size), Bridges is averaging 12.5 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting below 46% from the floor, 27% from downtown and 50% from the charity stripe.

During this stretch, he's posted the worst plus/minus on the team, with New York being outscored by 83 points with him on the court. (Precious Achiuwa has the second-worst +/- at -70.)

Bridges has attempted a grand total of four free throws over the 388 minutes during these 11 contests.

Unacceptable.

🏀 It's difficult to describe Josh Hart's night in LA. On the positive end of the spectrum, he played with the energy/passion that had been missing the past week or so. Hart racked up 18 points (6-of-13 FGs, 4-of-7 FTs), 10 rebounds, two assists, four steals and two three-pointers. After grabbing just one offensive rebound in the Knicks' previous three games combined, Hart ripped five offensive boards vs. LA.

However, the Lakers played off him all evening, daring Hart to shoot every time he touched the ball. Hart made two three-pointers on six attempts and used the space given to him to immediately get downhill on occasion, but overall, the strategy worked, as the Knicks offense stalled with Hart holding onto the rock.

This was especially true on the final possession in regulation. LA double-teamed Brunson at the top of the key, forcing JB to dish to Hart. But he didn't get a shot off before time expired, sending the game to OT.

🏀 OG Anunoby did a solid job keeping Luka in check for most of the night and scored 20 points, but needed 18 FG attempts to get there. Anunoby was 7-of-18 from the floor and 4-for-11 from behind the arc, but they were almost all open looks, and New York needs OG to keep shooting whenever he has room.

🏀 Cam Payne and Miles McBride were a combined 1-for-12 from the floor (1-for-10 from three-point range) vs. LA. The Knicks would have won if either of NY's reserve guards made a couple more buckets.

Both of those guys will see a massive uptick in playing time and usage rate with Brunson on the shelf.

And if we are squinting/searching for a silver lining related to the JB injury, we should see Tyler Kolek get dusted off and re-enter the rotation. Let's hope Thibs isn't too stubborn to give the rookie an opportunity. Kolek is the team's best passer, and the Knicks desperately need someone to facilitate the offense and push the pace.

Without Brunson operating in the halfcourt, it will be crucial for New York to get plenty of points in transition.

🏀 The Knicks have a winning percentage of .645 this season. Only four teams in the NBA have a higher winning percentage: The Cavs, Thunder, Celtics and Lakers.

The Knicks are 0-9 in their nine games against those four teams this season.

🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns acknowledged that he missed Tuesday's game vs. Golden State due to the death of a close family friend, Sarah Holtzman, who died of breast cancer.

"This is one of those moments where I had to be there for my family and be there for the kids that lost somebody really special to them," Towns said on Thursday. "I want to say that all the losses I've had have taught me how to appreciate life and find joy in the work. Not many people have a chance to have this job and be able to play basketball for a living. And the problems that have arisen in my life and stuff, I know that if people were in my shoes, they'd be extremely joyful to have the problems that I have. So just stay focused and it's made me a better man. And, with my mom, I had utilized that experience when it came to this one because losing a mom is tough."

🏀 This brings us to something I feel the need to address.

In his most recent podcast episode, Warriors forward Draymond Green ignorantly and maliciously suggested KAT missed the Warriors game because he was afraid to play against Jimmy Butler.

"Some would say he didn't play because Jimmy was in the building," Green said. "I don't know. They said KAT ain't play because Jimmy came to town… I don't know [if Towns was] hurt. I didn't look that deep into it to figure out what his injury was."

Draymond's vile, baseless conspiracy theory gained traction yesterday when FS1 personality Chris Broussard repeated the lie during Thursday's edition of First Things First. "There's a rumor out there," said Broussard. "Draymond said it on his podcast. KAT missed the last game against Golden State (against) Jimmy Butler and Steph and those guys. And Draymond said the word is, the scuttlebutt, is that he didn't want to play against Jimmy Butler… I'm just saying, it's out there. It's out there. People think KAT is soft. You gotta change that KAT."

First and foremost, it would have taken two seconds for either of these clowns to google, "Why did KAT miss Tuesday's game." Instead, they chose to slander a competitive player's character.

As an aside, Towns played against Butler during the second week of the season and hung 44 points in a win over the Heat in Miami.

Yet, just when I thought Draymond couldn't look any worse/small...

Green was given an opportunity to apologize to KAT last night after the Warriors' victory over the Nets in Brooklyn. A reporter asked if Green had seen the reaction to his comments. Draymond initially claimed he was unaware that KAT missed the game to attend a funeral. When the reporter informed him, Draymond callously replied, "Oh, man. That's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that. That sucks. But my comments that I made, was that 'people I heard was this, and that's what I heard."

Green continued: "So I do send my well wishes to him and his family. You know, none of us. It's inevitable. We all experience death in one way or another, and we'll all experience it in the same way one day. So it's unfortunate. You never wish that on anybody, but 'The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis' must go on… We all go through that, and it's never easy for anyone, but 'The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis' will go on."

So, for those keeping track at home,
Number of times Draymond said he was sorry for attacking KAT's character:
ZERO

Number of times Draymond plugged his podcast:
TWO

Disgusting, vile, despicable behavior.

The lack of empathy for another human being dealing with the death of a close friend is genuinely alarming.

The media and fellow players need to call out idiots like Draymond for this BS.

LeBron James, for instance, needs to be asked this and should publicly chastise Draymond. If LeBron is gonna criticize media/journalists for their "weird energy" and negativity, will he take fellow players to task when they talk shit on podcasts?

🏀 Next Up:
Knicks at Clippers Friday night (10:30 tip)

The Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a win over the Pistons. James Harden scored 50 points (his 24th career 50-point game) in the 123-115 victory. Bogdan Bogdanovic chipped in 23 points and Ivica Zubac posted a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Kawhi Leonard sat out that contest (it was the second night of back-to-back for LA) but is not listed on the injury report for Friday and will start for the Clippers. However, Los Angeles will be without Norm Powell (hamstring) and Ben Simmons (injury management).