Jalen Brunson drops 41 but Knicks lack of depth apparent in narrow victory over Wizards
Brunson #Brunson
The Knicks’ roster is not deep enough — and that’s why they need to make a trade.
It’s the biggest takeaway through a four-game stretch where New York has been mired by injury.
Jalen Brunson missed two consecutive games with calf pain, and Josh Hart missed Thursday’s 113-109 victory against the Washington Wizards, listed as day-to-day with soreness in his knee.
Without Brunson, the Knicks were a shell of themselves, losing to the shorthanded Orlando Magic and struggling to create separation against a Memphis Grizzlies team missing four of their top players.
And on the second leg of a back-to-back, this time without Hart — who provides valuable minutes off the bench — minutes ran high for the starters, the bench unit failed to generate any offense, and the Knicks nearly lost to a Wizards team toiling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings on Thursday.
New York secured its eighth victory in the 10 games played since trading RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby.
It was an ugly victory that amplified the Knicks’ biggest roster flaw.
If a player goes down, this team is in trouble.
No stretch embodied the Knicks’ dire need for a roster improvement more than the minutes leading into and coming out of the second quarter, where head coach Tom Thibodeau played Evan Fournier — who has been mentioned more in reported trade discussions than as an impact player — in just his third set of extended minutes this season.
The Knicks led, 22-18, when Fournier checked into the game — minutes he likely never would have seen had Hart been available. And at the top of the period, Thibodeau trotted out a five-man lineup of Fournier, Anunoby, Miles McBride, Quentin Grimes and Precious Achiuwa.
By the 5:05 mark of the second quarter, the Wizards built a 39-33 lead.
A lack of bench scoring, exacerbated by Hart’s absence, kept the Wizards in the game:
The Knicks’ bench mustered just seven points against 30 from a Wizards team. The second unit entered Thursday’s matchup averaging just 25.8 points, good for fourth-worst in the league since the Anunoby deal.
The lack of depth also showed itself in minutes played by the starters.
It’s no wonder the Knicks looked stuck in the mud hosting the Wizards: They were a team playing on heavy feet.
Brunson willed the team to victory with 41 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field and 11-of-13 shooting from the foul line. Donte DiVincenzo hit five threes for 19 points, and Anunoby added 19 points of his own.
Hartenstein dominated on the glass with 17 rebounds, and Randle added 21 points, eight boards and five assists.
The Knicks advance to a 25-17 record.
Next up: They host the very depth they traded away, with Barrett and Quickley returning to The Garden for the first time as opponents on Saturday when the Knicks take on the Toronto Raptors.