The Madison Square Garden was not electric today for several reasons, from injuries to a complete domination by their rivals, the Indiana Pacers. What was supposed to be a tight Game 7 turned into a disappointing evening for the Knicks fans after injuries started to pile up one after the other. OG Anunoby, who returned, had an early exit, and it all went downhill from there.
Brunson was having an off night once again today, with a 6/17 shooting. However, the bigger concern was his injured left hand. The New York Knicks sat Anunoby out at halftime for the rest of the game. Brunson headed to the locker room in the third quarter, with his father and assistant coach of the Knicks, Rick Brunson. After assessment, ESPN reported that Jalen Brunson fractured his left hand, another huge blow for the Knicks.
Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has a fractured left hand.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 19, 2024
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The Knicks were trailing by double digits when Brunson left the court. The night just got worse as the Pacers, who took advantage of the Knicks’ injuries, demolished them. The New York unit is out of playoffs with a 130-109 loss in Game 7. Sadly, the criticism has shifted towards Brunson, despite his injury.
The Knicks are back to the same place as last season. They were defeated by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2023. This time it’s the Pacers, who have stopped the Knicks. It has been 24 years now since the Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Were injuries the root cause for the New York Knicks’ playoff failure?
Fans believe the Knicks are cursed at this point. It started with forward, Julius Randle, who fractured his shoulder around the All-Star break. OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson led the way for the Knicks since then. Later in the playoffs, center Mitchell Robinson injured his ankle in the first round against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. He was injured during the regular season as well. Despite two big losses, the Knicks battled in the second round to take a 2-0 lead vs the Pacers.
Unfortunately, they lost Anunoby, who had a hamstring pull. Josh Hart, who was a rebounding monster in these playoffs, had an abdominal injury in Game 6 in which the Knicks lost. He and Anunoby returned for the decider today, but Jalen Brunson left for the locker room. Also, the Knicks did not have their veteran shooter Bojan Bogdanovic for the entire second round. It’s safe to say the Knicks were just unlucky.
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JB was in no mood to make excuses. To the question stating whether he would consider this a successful season, he said, “No”. “Did we win a championship? Did we get close? So, no. That’s my mindset,” he concluded.
Let’s hope they come back stronger next season.
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