The New York Knicks' early win streak is over. After five-straight victories all on their home floor, the team fell 124-107 to the Magic on Wednesday night. The worst part of it, though, was superstar point guard Jalen Brunson leaving the game early with an ankle injury. The Knicks were already in the midst of getting used to a new system. Losing their best player won't help.
New York trailed 115-99 with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter as Brunson was driving to the basket. He drew contact but landed awkwardly on his right leg, hurting himself by what head coach Mike Brown described as "turning" his ankle.
As soon as he could, Brunson committed a take foul to check himself out of the game. He went to the locker room and was seen leaving the arena both in a walking boot and on crutches.
Other than Brown's description, nothing is known about what Brunson's specific injury is or whether hours, days, or weeks are best to measure the length of a potential recovery. If the star point guard does get sidelined, it would present the Knicks with their first real challenge outside of adjusting to a new system.
Knicks' new offense will be tested if Brunson misses time
The Knicks' offense under Mike Brown has been punchy. The team has passed the ball significantly more often to start this season. Mikal Bridges, whose average last season of 3.7 assists per game was a career-high, is on track to improve on his passing numbers. The 29-year-old wing has dished out 5.2 assists per game through the team's first 11.
If Brunson misses time with this ankle injury, it would push the rest of the rotation up the pecking order for offensive initiation. Deuce McBride may be promoted to help with ball handling, shooting, and defense in the potential absence of Brunson. But much of the playmaking onus would still fall on starters like Bridges.
The Knicks have to control what they can. Without Brunson, that would mean being without their lead initiator and turning to more of a committee-style approach to generate offense. Drawing a crowd of defenders in the paint and kicking it out to open shooters, as Brown has preached, would be a start.
Whether or not they can handle this challenge remains to be seen, but they were forced to fare 16 games without Brunson last season. That was mostly a 15-game stretch in March and April. The Knicks relied on McBride, Tyler Kolek, and Cameron Payne, no longer on the roster. Kolek, in his second year as a Knick, got early run under Brown but was quickly removed from the rotation. He might factor in again.
How Mike Brown's system has helped Brunson shine
Under Brown, the Knicks' offense was supposed to become less reliant on Brunson. The thought, as was expressed at media day, is that ball movement creates more open looks – both in quality and quantity – for the whole team.
Brunson is unsurprisingly still the team's leading scorer, averaging 27.7 points per game despite the slightly-early exit on Wednesday. The guard's usage rating has even increased slightly from last season.
Brown's changes have been felt nonetheless. Ahead of the Knicks' Tuesday matchup with the Grizzlies, Brunson was on track for the highest shot quality and least amount of self-created shot attempts of his Knicks career. The team has pumped out offensive results and It's been clear thus far that all players can benefit, including Brunson.
Hopefully for the Knicks, and Brunson himself, the star guard doesn't miss any time at all. If he is held out by the injury, he'll eventually return to a team that was forced to become much more cohesive without him. If all goes well with his recovery and eventual acclimation to Brown's system, New York will be able to leave this in the past.