The New York Knicks survived their West Coast road trip but didn't thrive with a 2-3 record. Jalen Brunson sprained his ankle during the first game of the trip, missing the remaining four games. He'll remain out until the end of the month/beginning of April, as ESPN's Shams Charania reported over the weekend.
Life without Brunson hasn't been pretty, but it's forced New York to figure things out without relying on its star point guard. The defense has risen with Miles McBride starting in place of Brunson, but he isn't the playmaker that Brunson is. It's been an adjustment, but that's what happens when you lose a player averaging 26.3 points on the season.
The Knicks will be without him for at least the next few games, but luckily, the schedule is on their side. Their next five opponents New York will play are below .500: Miami (29-38), San Antonio (28-38), Charlotte (17-50), Washington (15-51), and Dallas (33-36).
Of course, that doesn't mean the next five games will be easy wins (fans know better than that), but it does help calm concerns about Brunson being sidelined. The Knicks have beaten each of those teams this season, except for the Mavericks, but Dallas looks a lot different than it did in November.
Knicks' upcoming schedule helps ease concerns about Brunson being out
There's a chance Brunson could miss the next five games, if not more. The Knicks will play their first team over .500 next week when they host the Clippers in the second half of a back-to-back (after hosting the Mavericks). New York lost to LA in its first game after Brunson's injury.
Not having him back for that matchup certainly wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would be nice to at least have Brunson back on March 28 when the Knicks play the Bucks in Milwaukee. The Bucks are four and a half games back from the Knicks in the No. 4 spot in the East. There was initially some concern about New York losing its three seed with Brunson out, but Milwaukee has had its own struggles.
The Knicks are lucky that Brunson's injury wasn't as bad as it looked and that it shouldn't hurt his availability for the playoffs. The past few games without him have been tough (except for the win over the Kings), but New York should walk away from the next five games with a better record than its last five.