For the past two games, the Knicks were as deep and healthy as they had been all season.
Even Tom Thibodeau appears willing to bend his core principles to help ensure that is the case when the playoffs begin.
Prior to Thursday’s game against the Pistons, their likely first-round opponent, the Knicks announced OG Anunoby (right thumb sprain), Josh Hart (right knee patellofemoral syndrome) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery injury recovery) will sit out the matchup.
In Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Celtics, Anunoby (41 minutes) and Hart (48 minutes) saw their most action, respectively, in roughly a month.
The Knicks (50-29), who need just one win or one Pacers loss to secure the No. 3 seed in the East, could be expected to sit other key contributors (including Jalen Brunson) with a home game scheduled the following day against the Cavaliers — who could also rest multiple players after clinching the top seed — and Sunday’s regular-season finale in Brooklyn.
The Pistons (43-36) look certain to end up as the No. 6 seed after losing four of their past five games, with the magic number for the Bucks (45-34) down to two — any combination of Milwaukee wins/Detroit losses — to lock up the No. 5 seed.
The Bucks host the lowly Pelicans on Thursday, before closing the regular season with a home-and-home set against the Pistons.
OG Anunoby, slamming home a dunk during the Knicks’ OT loss to the Celtics, is battling a right thumb sprain and will get an off day against the Pacers on Thursday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
After failing their latest test against the defending champs, the Knicks could get another crack at Boston in Round 2.
Even discounting the games during Brunson’s absence, the Knicks have won just one of their past six games against teams over .500 with the All-NBA guard in action and have gone 3-17 against teams with a winning record and a top 10 defense.
The Knicks are 1-2 against the Pistons this season.
Josh Hart, greeting comedian Tracy Morgan during the Knicks’ OT loss to the Celtics, won’t play Thursday against the Pacers due to right knee patellofemoral syndrome. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Detroit won a pair of meetings at Madison Square Garden, following the Knicks’ 30-point win in Detroit on Nov. 1.
In Detroit’s wins, soon-to-be All-NBA selection Cade Cunningham proved to be a nightmare matchup, posting a triple-double (29 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) on Dec. 7 then scoring 36 points on Jan. 13.
Brunson is “almost there.” After showing rust in his first game back from a sprained ankle that sidelined him for a month, the Knicks star looked the part Tuesday, scoring 27 points (5-for-12 on 3-pointers) with 10 assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
Brunson noted he couldn’t “find any rhythm at all” in Sunday’s win over the Suns, as he put up 15 points (3-for-9 field goals) with six assists and three turnovers.
“I’m almost there,” Brunson said Tuesday night. “That’s all I have to say about it.”
Thibodeau saw significant improvement in Brunson’s movement and timing against the Celtics, but he also said that he doesn’t believe the captain is back in peak-form yet.
“I thought Jalen gave us really good minutes,” Thibodeau said. “I thought he got into a pretty good rhythm. He was in attack mode and that’s good for us. … Each game he’s getting better and better, but the playoffs will be here shortly. So there’s urgency to this.”
