As Jalen Brunson has been sidelined with an ankle injury, and backup Deuce McBride it out with groin pains, Cameron Payne stepped up as a starter in point guard position for the Knicks last night against the Clippers. However, he was forced to leave after rolling his ankle after scoring two points in the first half.
This means New York may be down to their fourth option at point guard for the next games. Unfortunately, Payne had been playing well up to that moment, having scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting after only 18 minutes of play during Wednesday night’s 126-113 loss to the Los Angeles.
Team coach Tom Thibodeau still hadn’t spoken to the medical staff about Cameron’s situation during the postgame interview, so he still ins’t sure how much time the guard will miss or the severity of the injury.
Now that Payne is out for some time, the New York club will have to depend on rookie Tyler Kolek, who has shown promise to become the team’s floor general, despite not having the best defensive development. Last night, rival James Harden took advantage of this, as the Clippers accumulated 40 points in the third quarter.
“They kept coming at us with that high two-man game, and I’ve got to be better about defending that,” Kolek said about the Los Angeles club constantly breaking up their defensive with pick-and-rolls. The rookie was also held scoreless but was able to hand out seven assists.
Payne’s injury comes at a bad time for the Knicks, as they’ve lost seven of their past 12, but have been able to remain 45-27 in the Eastern Conference’s third place. Even though they are set for the playoffs, New York has suffered all-season long against the NBA’s elite teams.
“Injuries always suck, and for some reason we just keep getting smacked with them at the same position,” Josh Hart said postgame, as he’s set to handle the ball while his point guard teammates return. “We’ve got to piece it together and figure out a way to scratch out wins.”
