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 against the Pacers, he grabbed at his left hamstring late in the game as the Knicks moved ahead two games to none. The strain sidelined him for the next four games.
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 is performing spectacularly in this postseason, grabbed at his right 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 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 grabbed at the back of his leg. But that doesn’t mean that history is repeating itself.
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 already were without Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, both out 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 the 2023-24 team.
Still, they know there are no sure things. Even heading into the Wells Fargo Center, which has felt like a home away from home in recent years, the Knicks know the task will not be easy.
“We’ve got to go out there focused, having attention to detail,” said Josh Hart, who also is 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. He was upgraded to probable for Friday.
But the 76ers could return Joel Embiid, who again is 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. He did not show 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 Eastern Conference throughout the playoffs, in no small part because of the contributions of Anunoby. But they might have enough to survive if he has to sit 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, a hard-nosed defender and three-point shooter, or Landry Shamet, whom Mike Brown treasures in much the same way that Tom Thibodeau did.
But they would 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 been in the postseason — more efficient than anyone else on the team and almost anyone in the NBA — he still is the third option on the Knicks, whose offense runs 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.
