The Knicks’ injury list keeps getting longer.The Philadelphia 76ers have experienced numerous short-term injuries this season in addition to long-term ones, as evidenced by the fact that players like Joel Embiid and De’Anthony Melton have each missed more than 14 games at one point.
Not to be overlooked is Robert Covington, who has missed 31 games after returning to Philadelphia from the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this season due to a bone bruise in his knee. He has been out of action since the beginning of the new year.The Sixers, who were formerly in third place in the Eastern Conference, dropped to fifth place after a run of difficult games that included the losses of Embiid and Melton.The New York Knicks are one of the teams that have surpassed them; they are currently one and a half games ahead of Philadelphia in the standings, but things aren’t exactly going well in Tom Thibodeau’s system because they have also been plagued by injuries.

The Knicks were already without some of their best players going into the post-All Star break schedule: Julius Randle was out with a dislocated right shoulder, OG Anunoby was out with surgery to remove a loose bone fragment from his elbow, and Mitchell Robinson might not be back for the entire season after early December surgery to repair a stress fracture.All-Star Jalen Brunson left Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers early after colliding with Isiah Hartenstein on a screen, suggesting that their injury concerns may only get worse.
After the game, Thibodeau spoke with the media on Brunson’s injury. He revealed that the All-Star had sustained a knee contusion after many negative X-rays.The Knicks, who play the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, will keep an eye on the former Villanova guard to see how he is feeling in the coming days.
When do the Sixers and Knicks play?
The Sixers just have one game left, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, after they have already faced the Knicks twice this season and lost both times against their division rivals.It’s possible that Brunson won’t play in the last meeting because it’s only eight days away. That wouldn’t be a problem for Nick Nurse and the Sixers, though, as the All-Star has dominated them this season, averaging 25 points on 42 percent shooting and seven assists per game.Even though the two teams are only scheduled to play one more time, there is a genuine chance that, should either team falter at all, they may face off in the opening round of the playoffs due to the close race in the Eastern Conference rankings.