Jalen Brunson said before the season that the first few weeks will “show who we truly are.”
Now that the Knicks begin their third week of this campaign, what have they shown?
“That we’re still resilient,” Brunson said after practice Monday. “That we’re still open to getting better every single day. And through the highs and lows of the season, how quickly can we bounce back?”
Head coach Mike Brown has welcomed early-season adversity, saying that he actually wanted his team to be punched in the mouth and knocked down from their championship high horse. A 2-4 start, and all the immediate discourse about what was wrong, certainly delivered that.
Now at 5-4 after winning five of their past six games, the Knicks have stabilized. Brown believes the rough start provided a valuable reminder for the team.
“The group is resilient,” he said. “[We learned] that it’s gonna be hard. This is a new year, new season and new challenges, so we have to embrace all the little details while trying not to have much slippage in our process because nobody is handing anything to us. And if we want to have success, which we’re more than capable of, that’s what some of these wins show you, that we have to go earn it.”
Josh Hart, who missed the past two games due to right ankle soreness, is questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Bucks at Madison Square Garden. He practiced Monday.
Hart had practiced Friday before missing Saturday’s win in Cleveland. Landry Shamet started in Hart’s place the past two games.
If Hart returns Tuesday, it will be notable if he is able to play both legs of the upcoming back-to-back — the Knicks play the Cavaliers at home Wednesday — or if the Knicks sit him for one of those games.
Tyler Herro (right knee contusion), Milwaukee’s leading scorer, is questionable to play.
Brunson was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for last week. He averaged 27.7 points and 6.3 assists in three games — all Knicks wins.
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