The New York Knicks had an easy game on the schedule to get right, and they completely blew it in the worst way possible Wednesday night. They walked into Sacramento and got destroyed by the worst team in the league 101-112.
Jalen Brunson suffered an ankle injury and did not return
The story of the game, and perhaps the foreseeable future, is the health of their leader and captain, Jalen Brunson. The All-Star rolled his right ankle about five minutes into the first quarter, and would later be ruled out for the rest of the game.
When Brunson came off the floor, the offense faltered. They stood no chance, as the rest of the guys couldn’t get the job done on either end of the floor.
Hopefully, Brunson’s injury is not too severe. He missed a few games earlier this season after spraining that same ankle, so they will be cautious with their superstar when it comes to that injured ankle.
The Knicks had a pitiful shooting night
The three-point shot has been a point of emphasis for the Knicks this season. Oftentimes, they have lived by it, but against the Kings, they died by the three.
The Knicks were dreadful shooting the ball, going just 8-for-41 (19%) from long distance. They generated clean looks despite Brunson being out, but they just couldn’t get them to drop, which ultimately sank their chances of cutting into the lead
The Knicks simply haven’t looked the same offensively over the past month, and it is a concerning trend heading into the second half of the season. They need to regain their composure offensively if they want to win more games again.
The Knicks’ co-stars just couldn’t uplift the team
The Knicks were hoping to rely on Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby to carry the load once Brunson went down. Unfortunately, they were not able to do so and left behind disappointing performances.
Bridges and Anunoby struggled from three, shooting just 2-for-15 from three combined despite getting clean looks. It’s been a struggle for both of them for quite a while now, leaving reason to be concerned about the trend they are heading toward.
Towns couldn’t take over the game, either, as he only scored 13 points and shot 5-for-14 from the field and 0-for-1 from three. He got thoroughly outplayed by former Knick Precious Achiuwa, who scored 20 points and made a good impact defensively with two steals and two blocks.
Simply put, the Knicks need more out of their supporting cast. Right now, they are not consistently getting strong performances from them, and it needs to turn around as soon as possible, or else they will have a hard time getting back on track.
Overview
This was undoubtedly the Knicks’ most disappointing loss of the season, and it came at the cost of their superstar. The hope is that this serves as a wake-up call for them, and they are going to need it on Thursday as they take on the Golden State Warriors to finish off the road trip.