Steve Popper: Knicks better equipped to handle OG Anunoby's absence, if he misses extended time
Knicks’ OG Anunoby drives to the basket while being defending by Dominick Barlow of the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
It was two years ago and OG Anunoby was performing spectacularly in the postseason. Then, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals he came up grabbing at his hamstring late in the game as the Knicks moved ahead two games to none. The strain sidelined him for the next four games until an effort to return to the starting lineup in Game 7 had him hobbling for a few minutes before the Knicks gave up on the notion of a heroic return and the season came to a disappointing end.
So it felt a little bit too familiar when Anunoby, who's performing spectacularly in the postseason, grabbed at his hamstring late in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals as the Knicks pushed in front of Philadelphia two games to none Wednesday night. The injury that sent him to the locker room now has him listed as questionable for Friday night’s Game 3 in Philadelphia.
The Knicks chances were ruined two years ago as soon as Anunoby grasped at the back of his leg. But that doesn’t mean that history is repeating itself this time.
It’s not just that the hope is that the injury is not as severe as it was two years ago, although that is what is believed to be true. It’s that the Knicks are far more equipped to survive what they hope is, at most, a brief absence.
Remember, when Anunoby was sidelined two years ago the Knicks were already without Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, both sidelined for the remainder of the season. And by the time the Knicks were fading in the final game, even Jalen Brunson suffered a hand injury and had to watch the ending from the locker room. The Knicks were just 8-7 without Anunoby this season — including a hamstring injury that cost him nine games — but do have more firepower, more depth and more versatility than that team two years ago.
Still, they know there are no sure things and even heading into the Wells Fargo Center, which has felt like a home away from home in recent years, the Knicks know that the task will not be easy.
“We’ve got to go out there focused, having attention to detail,” said Josh Hart, who is also listed as questionable for Friday with a sprained left thumb. “They’re going to come out there with extreme desperation and urgency. We can’t just match it, we’ve got to exceed it.
“This team just came back from 3-1 [against Boston in the first round of the playoffs], so you can’t sit there and be happy about that or complacent and all that, there’s what, 15, 16 teams ever that came back from 3-1? So we know what this team is capable of. We have to continue to be focused.”
Two years ago the Knicks didn’t have Karl-Anthony Towns or Mikal Bridges, both of whom have been huge factors in the first two games of this series. Robinson is expected back after sitting out Game 2 with an illness — upgraded to probable for Friday.
But the 76ers could return Joel Embiid, who is once again listed as questionable after sitting out Game 2 with a sprained right ankle and right hip soreness, a decision that felt like rest as much as an injury, since he had not shown any hint of it in Game 1 and got to sit out much of the night as the Knicks ran away with a 39-point win.
The Knicks have looked like the best team in the East throughout the playoffs, in no small part due to the contributions of Anunoby. They might have enough to survive this time if Anunoby sits out a game or two. It's not unreasonable to believe they can win at least one of two in Philadelphia without him. They can replace him in the lineup with Deuce McBride, which provides a hard-nosed defender and a three-point shooter, or Landry Shamet, who Brown treasures in much the same way that last year’s coach, Tom Thibodeau, did, but they lose size. The closest match to Anunoby, with size and some skills, might be rookie Mo Diawara, who has been moved to garbage time duty in the playoffs with the team trying to avoid his rookie mistakes.
As great as Anunoby has ben in the postseason — more efficient than anyone on the team, and almost anyone in the NBA, he is still the third option on the Knicks, the offense running through Brunson and Towns. The defense is able to survive with Hart, Bridges, McBride and Robinson. But the Knicks also have taken a next man up attitude for this, same as they have throughout the season, and are focusing on who they have and how they have to play.
“Play desperate, be even better than we were today,” Bridges said after Wednesday's win. “Just got to keep being better and not worry we’re up 2-0. It’s 0-0, and go out and play.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
