What has gone right, wrong for Knicks as they emerge from All-Star break

Few teams in any sport have needed a midseason timeout more than the Knicks, whose mounting injury situation resulted in six rotation regulars being sidelined for their final game before the All-Star break. 

That shorthanded defeat in Orlando represented the Knicks’ fourth loss in a row and fifth in six games following the 15-2 run that briefly vaulted them within a half-game of the No. 2 playoff position in the Eastern Conference. 

The recent slide has left them in the fourth spot, four games behind the second-place Cavaliers, and a half-game up on the 76ers with the Knicks (33-22) opening their final 27 games of the regular season Thursday night in Philadelphia. 

Just listening to the chanting crowds at the Garden, Jalen Brunson is fully worthy of this designation.

The deserving first-time All-Star might legitimately find his way into the league-wide conversation, too, if the Knicks regain health and secure no worse than a top-4 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

Brunson only has been the franchise’s best point guard since Walt Frazier, putting up 27.6 points and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range and providing a defining toughness and work ethic that New York sports fans always have appreciated.