This reigning champion New York Knicks team has proven time and time again that they will only go as far as superstar Jalen Brunson will allow them.
Right now, as they approach the kick-off of training camp, it appears he can currently take them at 80 to 85 percent of his full strength, which, compared to just a few short weeks ago, when he was still not yet reported to be cleared for basketball activities, is certainly progress.
After undergoing surgery on his left shooting wrist back in early July, ESPN's Vincent Goodwill is now revealing that Brunson is almost a full go and that he will "have no restrictions" in camp.
This news comes as pictures and videos of him both on the set of Law and Order: SVU and at New York Fashion Week events show him brace-less for the first time in months, which, of course, is a beautiful sight to see for Knicks fans as they hope to witness their beloved ball club become the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors.
Return to the court doesn't guarentee Knicks star will be back to form
Though this recent reporting is undoubtedly exciting to hear, it by no means guarantees Brunson is bound to just snap back into his pre-injury form right from the jump.
As Dexter Henry of the New York Post noted during a late-August episode of the NY Got Game podcast, there's an important distinction "between being medically cleared and then Brunson being Brunson."
As we noted earlier, a full-strength Brunson has proven himself capable of bringing this Knicks squad to sensational heights.
Just this past postseason, behind his averages of 28.4 points, 6.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 46.5 percent shooting from the floor and 36.3 percent shooting from deep, and his stellar league-wide ranks of fourth in win shares (3.0), third in plus-minus (12.3), and first in total clutch points (38), he was able to spearhead the charge toward New York's first title run in 53 years.
Now, granted, the Knicks do have quite a lethal overall supporting cast of characters surrounding Brunson.
From perennial All-NBA stars like Karl-Anthony Towns, elite-level 3&D wings like OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, and superb role players such as Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet, and Miles McBride, coach Mike Brown's arsenal is certainly talented enough to hold things down should their cornerstone not be 100 percent come the start of the season.
However, without a full-go Jalen Brunson, their odds of winning a second-straight chip could go from plus-900 to the plus-3,000 range real fast.
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