Jalen Brunson Out of Boot amid Injury, Knicks Hopeful He'll Return Before NBA Playoffs

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau provided an update on Jalen Brunson's sprained right ankle Thursday.

"He's doing light shooting and he's out of the boot," he told reporters. "So there's steady progress and we'll see where it goes from there."

The hope, and expectation, is that the star point guard can return to action before the playoffs begin.

"Whenever he's ready, he's ready," Thibodeau added. "He's putting a lot into his rehab. That's what he can control right now. So that's where we want his focus to be. Hopefully, he'll get some games where he can work himself back into it."

Brunson, 28, last played on March 6, a 113-109 overtime loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. Since then, the Knicks are just 3-3.

The star point guard is having another fantastic season, averaging 26.3 points and 7.4 assists in 61 games this season. He remains the team's most important player.

Barring a late-season collapse without Brunson, however, the Knicks will likely keep the No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs. At 43-35, the Knicks are currently 6.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed, a deficit they seem unlikely to erase.

The Indiana Pacers, meanwhile, are four games behind the Knicks in the standings and both the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons are five games back. All three could potentially catch the Knicks, though the team would have to significantly falter down the stretch.

One positive for the Knicks has been the return of center Mitchell Robinson, who has provided more of a defensive identity to New York.

"His presence alone adds a lot to our defense, adds a lot to our team," Karl-Anthony Towns told reporters on Wednesday. "It gives us a chance to get real versatile with our lineups... I thought we got some time with me and him at the 4 and 5, and it caused a lot of problems. So we've got to see how we can build on that."

That renewed defensive identity will be important for the Knicks until Brunson is able to return.