New York Knicks Injuries Stacking Up with Series Knotted at Two
The New York Knicks appear to be in some trouble. The injuries that have hovered over this franchise down the stretch and into the postseason seem to be — at least at the outset — taking their toll.
After falling to Indiana 111-106 in a wild Game 3 on Friday night, New York had no answer for the Pacers on Sunday afternoon, getting blown out 121-89.
And it didn’t take long for Indiana to set the tone for the day. Pascal Siakam’s three-pointer with 8:55 to go in the opening quarter gave the Pacers a 7-4 lead. That lead would quickly swell to 16 points over the next 5:30 minutes as Indiana’s lead increased to 24-8.
The Knicks never had a chance.
Sure Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVencenzo, and Josh Hart were all on the floor, but without OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson for the second consecutive game, the Knicks were missing some added size in the backcourt.
Of course, Robinson is out for the rest of this season with a stress injury to his ankle, while Anunoby is still a ways away from returning to the floor. According to the New York Post on Sunday, Anunoby, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, hasn’t started to run yet, and is only doing “pool work.”
That didn’t stop Head Coach Tom Thibodeau from stating the obvious that there are “no excuses,” considering Anunoby did miss a chunk of the year already.
https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1789789863572631880
Still, the Knicks are clearly hurting. Losing Bojan Bogdanovic to a foot injury and Julius Randel to a shoulder injury already made this road through the playoffs a difficult one. Without Robinson and Anunoby it makes it even harder.
The Knicks, who like to play big inside, especially on the defensive side, can’t. They are forced to play small, and it hurts them in Game 3 and Game 4.
https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1789791752796139926
Should Knicks fans worry? Yes. Obviously, with the Villanova Three of Brunson, DiVencenzo and Hart anything is possible.
These guys have shot the lights out of arenas all season, and perhaps some home cooking at the Garden is what this team needs.
That being said, there are some obvious red flags from this weekend.
We’ll see how it plays out Tuesday at the Garden.
