Jalen Brunson “questionable,” OG Anunoby “day-to-day” and nearing return

It’s Christmas in March for all New York Knicks fans, isn’t it?

The team, after a surprising victory against the Cavaliers last weekend and following an unexpected defeat at the hands of the Hawks on Tuesday, spent a day on the bed before returning to the practice facilities in Tarrytown on Thursday gearing up for their pivotal matchup against the Orlando Magic on Friday.

New York (36-26) enters today’s game sitting in the no. 5 seed in the Easter Conference and it will host the no. 4 Magic (37-26) followed by back-to-back games against the no. 7 Sixers (35-27) on Sunday and Tuesday, all three of those matchups played at the Garden.

For the first time in three (virtually; Jalen Brunson only played 47 seconds against the Cavs) games the Knicks might welcome back one of their shelved starters in JB. For the first time since Jan. 27, the Knicks might also see OG Anunoby make his comeback next week and Julius Randle later this month. And for the first time since early December, Mitchell Robinson could play basketball again in April.

That, and more, is what Tom Thibodeau told folks listening to him following Thursday’s practice. Here’s a rundown of what’s going on with all injured Knicks, when to expect them back, and what Coach Thibs revealed before his squad hosts the Florida Blues on Friday.

Jalen Brunson (Questionable)

Jalen Brunson suffered a knee contusion in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers last Sunday just seconds into the game and he was listed as “questionable” to play Friday against Orlando.

Thibs said that Brunson “did most of practice” on Thursday, as reported by Fred Katz of The Athletic. Thibs didn’t reveal Brunson’s gameday status at that moment but Brunson will at least dress (we assume) as he got the “questionable” tag and will probably be a game-time decision to play today.

Considering the importance of all next three upcoming games for seeding purposes, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see Brunson play—and start, for that matter—against Orlando less than a week after suffering his knee bruise. That said, Thibodeau perhaps opts to “punt” today’s game and give JB a couple more days of full rest ahead of the back-to-back meetings with Philly, which is also battling for avoiding the play-in seeds in the East.

“He looked regular, looked good. Practice is a lot of starting and stopping so it’s kind of hard to judge [if a player has overcome an injury] sometimes,” Josh Hart said after practice when asked about Brunson, who wasn’t made available to the media present at Tarrytown, per Kristian Winfield of Daily News. “[He] looked good, looked confident and not like he was limping or dragging his leg or nervous to make movements, so that’s obviously a positive. Hopefully tomorrow [he’ll wake] up ready for shootaround—not much soreness—and hopefully ready to go.”

Thibodeau said “We’ll see where he is [Friday],” when asked if Brunson will be available against the Magic on Friday, per Peter Botte of the New York Post.

OG Anunoby (Day-to-day)

OG Anunoby underwent surgery in early February to remove a loose bone fragment from his right elbow after appearing in a shootaround late January but getting scratched before tipoff in a game against the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 28.

Anunoby has progressed to participating in full-contact five-on-five practices and according to Thibodeau, he is now considered “day-to-day.” That said, the franchise nor the coach provided an exact return date for OG on Thursday, while also simply saying he has “not been cleared to fully play yet,” per Fred Katz.

“OG’s taking contact, he’s scrimmaging, and that sort of thing,” Thibodeau said after practice. “I’m not a doctor, so when they clear him, they clear him—but he’s doing well, very well.

Promisingly, Coach Thibs said OG is already “day-to-day,” adding the coaches and staffers will “see where he is” daily going forward. “He’s making good progress. But he’s got to be cleared first to fully play.”

Josh Hart, who spoke to the media after practice on Thursday, revealed a bit more information about OG while answer questions from beat reporters.

“[OG] looked good. He looks like himself,” Hart said. “Shot the ball well today, those kinds of things.”

Added Hart: “When you take that step, it’s always you kinda hold your breath the next day to see how they react to kind of really upping the workload. So hopefully tomorrow, there’s not that much soreness or anything like that and can keep progressing. Hopefully, we get (him) back soon.”

Julius Randle (Mid-March)

No real update was provided on Randle’s rehab status, although there wasn’t anything bad coming out of Tarrytown on Thursday.

Julius Randle has been out since dislocating his right shoulder in late January when he collided with Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and hit the floor hard. Randle has since returned to the court for light contact drills but is still restricted from full contact.

Randle, it’s worth noting, chose to walk the rehabilitation walk instead of undergoing surgery, which could have meant putting an end to this season. It’s still unknown if he will need to go under the knife next summer, though that’s the expectation to avoid issues flaring up in the future.

While Randle’s return to the court will depend on his comfort and trust in his shoulder’s recovery, Thibs made clear that the opinion of the medical staff of the Knicks will be prioritized over Randle’s, mostly because JR is a stubborn man and would play on one leg if necessary.

“He’ll (need to) be at a comfort level when he does come back. He’s handled the injuries that he’s had in the past well. So he’s doing all the work that he needs to do, and he’s making good progress, and just work your way through it,” Thibs said.

“I think once he’s cleared—and usually what happens when a player goes through whatever injury they have—every player has to get back to where they trust their body again,” the coach added. “That usually doesn’t happen until there’s a play in the game where you go, ‘Hey, I’m OK.’”

Before yesterday, Thibodeau last provided an update on Randle’s rehab last Sunday, saying he had “started to take light contact.” That contact, however, didn’t include going player-vs-player yet in practice, with Randle limited to “work with pads,” per Fred Katz.

“[Randle] is making really good progress, so we’re hopeful that it’ll be soon. You wanna make sure that medically the doctors feel good about it; he feels good about it. And then once that happens—and he’s doing just about everything. He’s taken some light contact but nothing with a player yet. So that’ll be the next step,” Thibodeau told reporters last weekend.

Mitchell Robinson (Early/Mid-April)

Starting center and favorite country boy Mitchell Robinson has been sidelined since Dec. 8 last year following ankle surgery. The Knicks applied for the Disabled Player Exception, which the NBA ultimate denied them—reasonable and the right decision, considering Mitch is expected back for the postseason and perhaps for a few games before the regular season is over.

“Mitch looks good. He told me to tell everyone that,” Thibodeau said.

“He’s making good steady progress,” Thibs said, “but he hasn’t had contact or anything like that. It’s just the normal progression that he’s making. Shooting and that sort of stuff. You can script a little bit with him, and that’s where we are with that.”

At the time of this writing, the Knicks’ injury report for Friday’s matchup against Orlando only featured the four injured starters discussed above, with all listed out except Brunson (questionable).