This Villanova alum will be subjected to, at the very least, a catnap as the New York Knicks continue their road trip.
The metropolitan injury report for Thursday’s late night game between the Knicks and Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET, MSG/Prime Video) lists Brunson as out but the New York backcourt will welcome back Landry Shamet to the fold for the first time since fall.
Brunson has officially been diagnosed with a right ankle sprain, one that forced him to leave Wednesday’s visit to Sacramento after only 4:59 of action. Shams Charania of ESPN lists Brunson as day-to-day as the Knicks work through further concern on the ankle that kept him out of both this season and last.
While Shamet probably won’t replace Brunson in the starting five, he’ll no doubt be welcomed back to a group seeking deeper consistency as it seeks to drag itself out of a slump that has produced six losses in the past eight. Shamet was one of the last names admitted to the Knicks’ regular season roster but was averaging 9.3 points and shooting a career-best 42.4 percent from deep in 15 showings (6 starts) before enduring a shoulder injury in Nov. 22’s loss to Orlando.
In addition to Brunson, the Knicks will also give center Mitchell Robinson another night off, a relative ritual as he and the team continue to manage his own ankle issues. Seth Curry is the major departure for the hosting Warriors, as the brother of franchise face Stephen continues to deal with left sciatic nerve irritation.
