Knicks Excited to Have MVP Back

The New York Knicks are amped to have their star guard back on the court.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are getting their top player back at the right time.

Jalen Brunson returned to the Knicks lineup in their previous game against the Phoenix Suns, giving him the opportunity to meet his 65-game threshold to be eligible for league-wide awards, but more importantly to get ready for the postseason.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes believes Brunson has built his case towards being the team's Most Valuable Player this season.

"Cleared for basketball activities as he tries to come back from an ankle sprain, Brunson hardly needs more playing time to justify his status as Knicks MVP. He averaged 26.3 points and 7.4 assists before going down and even perfected his foul-drawing craft by averaging a career-best 7.0 free-throw attempts per game," Hughes writes.

The Knicks are 10-6 this season when Brunson doesn't play and 40-22 when he is on the court, which means that New York is better when he is in action.

Brunson will be able to get some of that rust off in these final few games before the postseason from sitting out for a month, but that should be plenty of time for him to get ready for what's to come.

Brunson has been through two playoff runs with the Knicks before, and he knows what it will take to go through another one, which is probably his most difficult one yet.

The Knicks will be favored in their first-round series, likely against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they will face a conundrum in the second round when they would almost certainly match up against the Boston Celtics, the NBA's defending champion.

If the Knicks are going to get past the Celtics, Brunson will have to play like an MVP, and he will be ready to do just that.

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