Knicks’ fragile health is Mike Brown’s latest test

Mike Brown’s first year coaching the New York Knicks has gone just about as well as hoped. The Knicks are 8-4 on the season, second in the Eastern Conference and just 2.5 games behind the upstart Detroit Pistons.

However, the team has also yet to win a game on the road, and face the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center on Monday night. New York also faced their longtime rivals at MSG on Friday, winning 140-132 on the back of 39 points from Karl-Anthony Towns. The Knicks’ big man sunk six threes while Josh Hart added a triple-double off the bench, and veteran Landry Shamet exploded for 36 points of his own. Fellow veteran Jordan Clarkson added 24 of his own.

As for star point guard and team captain Jalen Brunson? Nada. Zilch. Zip. He was on the bench with a sprained ankle, suffered near the end of the team’s loss to the Orlando Magic on November 12. The Knicks were also without top defender OG Anunoby, he only lasted five minutes before leaving with a strained hamstring.

And now, Mike Brown’s Knicks face their first real test of the season. Brunson is unavailable and won’t be out long, but he has no return date. Anunoby, meanwhile, will be re-evaluated in two weeks. This is nothing new. Anunoby has dealt with injuries his whole career and has only played in more than 70 games twice in nine years.

Here is where Brown and the Knicks’ test lies. Losing Brunson sucks, but isn’t catastrophic. Deuce McBride is a competent point guard and defender who, if his shots are falling, can put some points on the board in an emergency. Having Towns and Mikal Bridges in the lineup also helps.

Anunoby, on the other hand, is a bigger loss. He’s already posted a 1.1 Defensive Box Plus-Minus (DBPM) in the young season and is just as much of a three-point threat as he is a pest. It’s likely that his spot in the lineup will be filled by either Hart or Shamet.

Hart, the more likely option, isn’t a concern. He’s a Swiss Army knife of a player who can chameleon himself into whatever role he needs to fill. The ultimate swingman.

Shamet, meanwhile, remains the bigger concern. A big reason the Knicks won on Friday is because he went off with his 36 bench points. Same goes for Clarkson’s 24.

So what does this mean for the Knicks now that Anunoby is joining Brunson in street clothes for the foreseeable future? Simply that the issue isn’t patching the void left by Anunoby’s absence.

Rather, it’s about the Knicks’ bench continuing to show up. Gone are the days of Tom Thibodeau leaning on his starters and small rotations. Mike Brown needs to figure out how to use his pace-and-space with what’s in front of him. Maybe that means Tyler Kolek getting more minutes, maybe former first-round pick Pacome Dadiet.

Not to mention, the Knicks start a five-game road trip in Miami on Monday, a road trip that runs right up to the day before Thanksgiving. The Heat are the only winning team they’ll face. The rest are all .500 or worse, including a homecoming of sorts against the 2-11 Brooklyn Nets on November 24.

Brunson could very well return during this stretch but even then, these are all games the Knicks should win. Even shorthanded.

Let’s see if Brown can adjust his rotation as needed while avoiding Thibodeau’s prior mistakes.