Knicks are extremely depleted at the point guard position following Cameron Payne’s injury
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.
Knicks: Good news and bad news from 126-113 loss to Clippers
The New York Knicks were unable to maintain a double-digit lead against a red-hot Los Angeles Clippers squad, losing to them Wednesday by a score of 126-113. New York will have to wait to clinch a spot in the postseason, as they fall to 45-27 on the season while the Clippers improve to 41-31.
The Knicks squandered an early lead in the second half
The Knicks started this game playing strong on both ends, as they quickly jumped out to a 14-point lead to end the first quarter behind a hot start from Karl-Anthony Towns and Cameron Payne.
However, the Clippers’ turnaround began at the end of the second quarter when they went on a run to close the gap to just one at the halftime break. The Clippers didn’t stop there as a 10-0 run of their own pushed the lead to double-digits, and a 32-10 run that stretched to the fourth quarter further extended their lead.
