ATLANTA — Welcome back, Cap.
The Knicks officially ruled Jalen Brunson out for Saturday’s game against the Hawks, clearing the runway for his return on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns — and signaling the end of a month-long absence for their All-Star captain.
But as Brunson prepares to take the floor for the first time since spraining his right ankle in overtime of a March 6 loss to the Lakers, the Knicks find themselves walking a tightrope: healthy bodies are returning, but the calendar isn’t forgiving.
Brunson practiced with contact Friday at Georgia Tech’s Zelnak Center — his first full session since the injury. Miles McBride also practiced but missed his eighth straight game Saturday with a groin strain. Cameron Payne, meanwhile, rejoined the rotation after missing four games due to an ankle sprain. Mitchell Robinson sat out Saturday’s contest as part of the ongoing maintenance from the ankle surgery that kept him out 10 months.
With six games remaining in the regular season — and five of them coming in a brutal seven-day span — the Knicks are suddenly getting healthy at a time when workload management becomes a daily dilemma. Players returning from injury typically don’t play in both legs of a back-to-back. The Knicks have two more of them before the playoffs begin: Sunday against the Suns, then a road-home back-to-back on April 10 in Detroit against the No. 5 Pistons, then back at Madison Square Garden against the No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
So while Thibodeau’s preferred vision is a team peaking at the right time, the reality is more complicated.
“You’re not gonna jeopardize a player’s health,” he said ahead of tipoff against the Hawks. “So if [Jalen] can play, he’ll play, and if it’s better for him not to play, he won’t play. There’s some moving parts here. We’re trying to reintegrate players as they come back after being out for a while, so there’s that challenge as well.”
That means limited runway for experimentation — and even fewer reps for key units to build rhythm before the postseason.
Brunson, Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns — a trio the Knicks hope can anchor a playoff run — have logged just 2.3 minutes together in one game since Robinson returned on Feb. 26. Robinson and Brunson shared the court for just 49 minutes between Robinson’s return and Brunson’s injury. It’s a pairing that needs re-acclimation — in theory.
“Well, I think if you had your druthers, obviously you’d like to see that,” Thibodeau said. “But you deal with reality. They’ve played together before, so I think they have an understanding of each other. So we’ll make the best of it.”
Brunson regaining his rhythm — whether in limited minutes or not — remains the top priority.
A month away from NBA game speed can dull any scorer’s edge, and the Knicks need their captain in All-Star form heading into the playoffs. Before the injury, Brunson was averaging 26.3 points and a career-best 7.4 assists per game, commanding the offense with precision and poise.
The time off may have helped his body recover from the pounding it’s endured all season, but it comes with a caveat. Rest can heal the body, but it can also steal a player’s rhythm.
“It all depends because obviously you’re able to rest and have the body kind of feeling good, but also you lose a little bit of your timing and rhythm and all that, and it takes a little bit of time to get that back,” said Josh Hart. “He’ll probably be able to play four ...
