ATuesday night matchup between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers on March 17 will miss quite a few key names.
On the Knicks’ side, they are set to roll without their starting guard, Jalen Brunson.
As the All-Star deals with multiple ailments, he was downgraded twice before the Knicks ultimately made the decision to rule him out against a depleted and struggling Pacers team.
Knicks Announce Starting Lineup vs Pacers
The Knicks are starting Jose Alvarado, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Pacers will roll with TJ McConnell, Aaron Nesmith, Kobe Brown, Jarace Walker, and Ivica Zubac in the starting lineup.
One has to imagine that the Knicks are comfortable in the absence of Brunson, while going against a Pacers team that is in a gap year.
Ever since losing Tyrese Haliburton in the NBA Finals to an Achilles injury, it was clear that Indiana might fall off in terms of being Eastern Conference contenders for the year. Indeed, that has been the case.
Heading into Tuesday’s action, the Pacers possess a 15-53 record. They are last in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Washington Wizards, who have 16 wins on the year.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are in a much different position. They entered the season healthy and are expected to enter the playoffs as one of the most notable contenders this year.
Where The New York Knicks Stand In The East
At this point, New York is on pace to lock in a guaranteed playoff spot after clinching a Play-In position at worst. They currently trail the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons have a 3.5-game lead over the Celtics. Meanwhile, Boston is just 1.5 games ahead of the Knicks for the second seed.
Jalen Brunson’s two setbacks will certainly be something to monitor from a Knicks perspective. The team hasn’t had to play much without Brunson this year, but when they did, it wasn’t promising.
The star guard missed two games in November. New York split a mini-series with the Miami Heat by going 1-1. A late December absence against the Minnesota Timberwolves resulted in a Knicks loss.
When Brunson missed his other two games in January, the Knicks dropped both matchups, which were against the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns.
A 1-4 record is a small sample size, but the Knicks certainly don’t want to find themselves in a position where they have to roll without Brunson for a period of time. They’ll take on the Pacers on Tuesday, then continue monitoring Brunson’s status for the Friday, March 20, matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.