The coaching reason Jalen Brunson wasn’t subbed back into Game 5 sooner became the loudest debate. But the health reason for why he was subbed out is more relevant to the treacherous road ahead. 

If you haven’t been following the flows of the physicality meter, Brunson is taking a steady beating. He’s a small guard who is driving with high frequency and searching for contact. He’s shadowed by players who are stronger and more athletic (ahem, Ausar Thompson). He’s cutting, contorting, falling into crowded paints. He leads the NBA playoffs in drawing charges. 

Brunson is also operating, very clearly and concerningly, on a bum right ankle. The point guard won’t tell you about his bum ankle — he studied the Derek Jeter way of revealing nothing in interviews — but proof is in the tape. 

At some point in all five games of this series, Brunson left the bench to manage and recover from pain. In four of them, he returned to dominate fourth quarters. It prompted jokes and Tom Thibodeau smirks about strapping on capes or new sneakers or superhuman healing powers. But Knicks fans found nothing humorous about the way Tuesday unfolded, with the MSG crowd alternating between groans and stunned silence as New York’s offense turned rudderless in crunch time without the captain.