The New York Knicks have a big injury problem with the season winding down. Losing Jalen Brunson for an extended period was bad enough, but now they are also down Miles McBride (groin) and Cameron Payne (ankle), with the latter suffering an ankle injury against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Knicks are down three point guards to injuries
The Knicks are down to their out-of-rotation guards until one of those guys comes back, which are rookie guard Tyler Kolek and veteran Delon Wright. The two played the point guard position during the second half of Wednesday’s contest, but neither of them scored a basket during the entire game.
While both guards are strong playmakers, they need a willing scorer in the backcourt, and they are missing all of their scoring options at the point guard position. Head coach Tom Thibodeau, however, is not worried about the injuries depleting his roster.
“We have more than enough,” Thibodeau said, via Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “Next guy, get in there and get the job done.”
The Knicks will be relying on Kolek and Wright to keep the ship afloat
The hope is that the injuries to McBride and Payne are not too long. They will need both guys available to help close out the season and enter the playoffs on a high note. Brunson will eventually return as well, hoping that he is feeling 100% entering the postseason.
However, in the interim, they will be relying on players they were not expecting to depend on to get them through the next couple of games. Kolek is their second-round rookie who has only seen playing time sparingly, and Wright was picked up at the trade deadline for Jericho Sims and is not in the Knicks’ rotation.
Those two will be key in their upcoming game on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Luckily for the Knicks, the Bucks will be shorthanded too, as Damian Lillard is out indefinitely with a blood clot and Bobby Portis is still serving a suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. The game tips off at 8 P.M. EST. on the road in Milwaukee.