THE New York Knicks And Magic of Orlando will face off at Madison Square Garden Friday night in a battle for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
With these two teams separated by a half-game in the middle of the East and the regular season starting to wind down, this matchup could have ramifications for the playoff picture and who has home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
After being the hottest team in January, the Knicks have lost eight of their last 11 games. New York has been ravaged by injuries, with three starters out for a long time (Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson), and All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson missed the last two games after suffering a left knee injury. bruise against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 3, less than a minute after the start of the match.
Brunson avoided what initially appeared to be a scary injury that could keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future, but when will he return to the field? Will he be there when the Knicks play the Magic?
Classified as doubtful on the Official NBA Injury Report, Brunson has a chance to compete against Orlando. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said the All-Star general did “most” of practice Thursday, which is a good sign for his availability sooner rather than later and perhaps for Friday night.
Averaging 27.2 points, 6.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, Brunson’s health is critical for the Knicks ahead of a crucial game against the Magic. New York is 1-4 in the five games their star guard has missed this season.
The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET, and all eyes are on whether the Knicks will have Brunson.
