On Tuesday night against Memphis Grizzlies, both OG Anunoby and Quentin Grimes will remain sidelined due to injuries. Both players remain day-to-day.
Tom Thibodeau noted Anunoby has shown signs of improvement over the last week; however, they won’t rush him back until he is fully healthy and may start in place of him with Isaiah Hartenstein likely starting as soon as possible.
In this article, we will discuss the main points or high lights of New York Knicks Injury Report.
Jalen Brunson (calf)
Brunson has been playing through his calf injury, but it may be time to rest him. In New York’s last game against Utah Jazz – an uninspiring loss for them – Brunson collided with Kyle Lowry late in the third quarter, appearing to injure his leg, leaving him unable to return until Game 4 on Sunday with “significant discomfort”.
Brunson will be evaluated game-by-game against Oklahoma City Thunder in Week 11, as his availability for that night remains in question. Miles McBride also is listed as questionable; should his right hamstring tighten again post Wednesday’s win against Mavericks he may need Cameron Payne as backup point guard and Cameron Payne could see significant playing time as a result.
Brunson has proven himself an exceptional value over the past two weeks in 9-cat fantasy formats, averaging 24.2 points, 7.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds over his five most recent matches.
New York will face an uphill climb when traveling to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. OG Anunoby may need to be evaluated due to an elbow injury while Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn could both be out with injuries.
Quentin Grimes remains questionable with a knee injury he picked up from Toronto at the trade deadline and was expected to play regularly before suffering a sprained kneecap and having to sit out. Meanwhile, Taj Gibson signed on a 10-day contract and may make his debut during Saturday’s game; without Brunson or two starting big men (Kyle Anderson or Alonzo Stoudemire), however. If that occurs then their frontcourt could become very thin which should make for an entertaining matchup against one of Western Conference best teams!
OG Anunoby (elbow)
The Knicks hope OG Anunoby’s injury setback will only be minor. Since joining through trade from Toronto last December, Anunoby had been an invaluable contributor during their 15-2 start, averaging 15.6 points over 14 games while also serving as an excellent defensive presence in the backcourt.
On Thursday night during their win against Portland, Anunoby’s right elbow began to hurt him when he began using it to grab or shoot the basketball and had visible discomfort throughout his playing time – though he still played through it! Subsequently he was ruled out for Saturday’s matchup against Sacramento with what the team termed as “right elbow management”.
Anunoby had only managed to play three games since returning from surgery, but due to his latest setback may be unavailable for Monday’s match-up against Golden State Warriors. As soon as Anunoby arrived in New York in exchange for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley he experienced a flare-up of an elbow issue that forced him out for 18 games previously.
Anunoby will remain day-to-day until he is cleared by the Knicks, most likely when they return from All-Star break practice. Given their next three games are all against playoff contenders, the team cannot risk any longer-term injuries among their key rotation players.
Knicks players Julius Randle (shoulder) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle). Both will remain sidelined for at least another week or so.
New York recently called upon Ariel Hukporti from their G League affiliate, Westchester Knicks, in an effort to strengthen the bench and add depth as they enter their final stretch of regular season play. Unfortunately for them, however, Philadelphia currently leads them by half-game while remaining amongst one of the worst teams both offensively and defensively in the league.
Jericho Sims (illness)
Jericho Sims is currently suffering from illness and will miss Saturday night’s game against the Grizzlies, joining Julius Randle (shoulder), OG Anunoby (elbow) and Quentin Grimes on the sidelines. With their teammates downed, veteran big man Taj Gibson may see more minutes at center due to limited roster resources available to them.
Sims made his NBA debut Friday and scored two points, four rebounds, and one block over 23 minutes during a win against the Nets. But it is unlikely he will start against the Bulls as Isaiah Hartenstein returns from an Achilles injury and Precious Achiuwa has recently been signed back onto the team to provide offensive rebounding and rim protection from off the bench.
Due to injuries and Knicks’ problems at center — including Mudiay’s absence — it will likely be difficult for Sims to remain in the starting rotation over the final seven games of regular season play. He could still see some playing time off of the bench, however.
On Tuesday, Sims was listed as questionable for Wednesday’s matchup against the Jazz. While he didn’t practice ahead of the contest, his recovery appears to be progressing well after just one short recovery period. If he can’t play on Wednesday it would be a significant setback for New York heading into playoffs.
The Knicks will have to adapt without backup point guard Miles McBride, who was sidelined due to a hamstring injury and will now serve as Jordan Clarkson as their main defender at that position. But Clarkson has struggled for consistency this season. They will hope Jeremy Lin can continue contributing off the bench; his shooting and passing skills on both ends of the floor have averaged 8.7 points and 3.4 assists per game this year; Jericho Sims provides additional depth with his solid per-game averages of 4.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game; making him worth keeping for deeper fantasy formats.
Quentin Grimes (knee)
Grimes was one of the Knicks’ key trade-deadline acquisitions from Detroit and was looking like an exceptional addition. Although only playing limited minutes for Detroit, Grimes proved himself worthy as a valuable contributor. He helped strengthen both their defense and offense, averaging 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game in 19.2 minutes of court time on average in six games for them despite some questionable shooting skills he showed promise in defence; could have made an effective addition had given enough playing time or role changes taken advantage of.
Grimes has reported suffering a “subluxation of his right patella,” meaning his kneecap partially dislocated. While this non-severe injury should heal by Tuesday at the latest, he will still miss time until then.
Grimes will not require surgery in order to return this season – that is good news for his fantasy owners who were hoping that their former 25th pick could establish himself as an NBA contributor in his inaugural full season with Detroit.
On Sunday night, the Pistons face off against Orlando Magic at home but Grimes may not be ready to return due to ongoing knee soreness that has kept him sidelined for two weeks now.
Grimes’ absence will provide more playing time to other wing options on the team such as Cam Reddish and Josh Hart, and could possibly result in their temporary signing of another veteran for a short stint. For young talent such as Cam Reddish or Josh Hart this is an invaluable opportunity to gain experience and increase his chances of landing more lucrative contracts when he becomes unrestricted free agent later on in 2024-25.
