Jalen Brunson: Fading Knicks Need To ‘Wake Up’

It’s not been a great way for the New York Knicks to head toward the NBA playoffs.

More specifically, the Knicks have lost four of five — and it took a late rally at home to get that one win, over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

One night later, they dropped a 108-100 road decision to the Chicago Bulls.

Now, they have lost All-Star power forward Julius Randle (shoulder) for the season. So the team they have now is the team that they will have moving forward.

As it stands, the Knicks (45-32) are tied with the Orlando Magic for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

“They played with more energy and more pace than we did,” All-Star guard Jalen Brunson told reporters. “That’s two games in a row where we were down big early. We just can’t allow that to happen.”

What can the Knicks do to prevent it?

“Wake up,” Brunson insisted.

On the bright side, forward OG Anunoby returned from his elbow injury, scoring 12 points in his first appearance since March 16. So there are some signs for hope.

As for Randle, it’s been reported that he was never able to get his shoulder back to 100 percent, which is why he will undergo season-ending surgery. 

He dislocated that right shoulder on January 27 against the Miami Heat — and will finish the season with averages of 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks while shooting 47 percent from the floor, 31 on 3-pointers and 78 percent from the free-throw line.

He recorded 18 double-doubles and one triple-double. 

According to NBA insider Ian Begley of SNY, Randle is “devastated” that his 2023-24 season is over. 

“Randle wanted badly to return this season, but continued instability in his shoulder prevented him from coming back, per SNY sources,” Begley wrote. “Randle was told by specialists that he wouldn’t be able to get his shoulder in a place where he could play, necessitating the surgery, those sources say.

“Randle is said to be devastated that he can’t return, particularly because he felt the Knicks had a real chance to contend following the Anunoby trade, per people familiar with the matter.”

Hoops Wire’s Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.