The New York Knicks are 1-1 in the two games they've played since Jalen Brunson got injured, picking up their first win on Monday in Sacramento. It wasn't close, as the Knicks cruised to a 133-104 victory. It was the boost the team needed after a rough past few days.
Karl-Anthony Towns led New York with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in 27 minutes. The Knicks ran a lot of their offense through KAT, and the results were more than promising. It isn't something that they should stray from when Brunson returns in a week and a half (or so).
There was a lot more to like about the win outside of KAT, like OG Anunoby's big night and Josh Hart shooting 4-of-6 from three. It was also the third straight game in which New York held its opponent to the lower 40s in shooting, as pointed out in a postgame question to Hart. When Hart was asked what he was seeing on the defensive end, he jokingly said Brunson wasn't out there.
Josh Hart takes playful shot at Jalen Brunson after Knicks win
One of the biggest criticisms about New York is its defense. The Knicks have a league-average defense, which is one of the reasons many believe they won't make the deep playoff run fans have been waiting for. The trade for KAT propelled New York ahead on the offensive end, but the team's defense has taken a hit.
The Knicks' top two players — Brunson and KAT — aren't strong defenders and it's challenging to hide them both on that end. Hart seized the opportunity to take a shot at Brunson, but there was some truth to what he said. New York's defense was elite on Monday, forcing 16 turnovers and capitalizing on them on the offensive end.
Miles McBride has started the past two games in place of Brunson, and he's always been a great on-ball defender. Having him, Mikal Bridges, Hart, and Anunoby on the floor gives the Knicks four good defenders in the starting lineup. They played to their strengths on the defensive end, suffocating the Kings.
New York isn't going to shoot 53.6% from the field and 55% from deep every night (but wouldn't that be nice?), but what it can control is its collective effort on the defensive end. They can continue to do so even when Brunson returns to the starting lineup.
Nobody wanted to see Brunson go down, but the silver lining is that the Knicks have had no choice but to find their identity without him. Let's see if New York can carry on with the momentum it generated in Sacramento.