Next Tuesday, when the Knicks take the court for the first round of the Eastern Conference Finals, expect OG Anunoby to be back and in the starting lineup.
This isn’t a surprise. While he tweaked his hamstring in Game 3 against Philadelphia and sat out the final game of the sweep in Game 4, he was expected to play if that series had been extended another game or two. Now come reports that when the Knicks take the court again he will be out there. Knicks reporter Ian Begley of SNY.tv said this on Tuesday and ESPN’s Shams Charania said the same thing on Wednesday.
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Officially, Knicks coach Mike Brown said Wednesday they were taking things one day at a time and he wasn’t sure if Anunoby would play in Game 1. That said, he was getting up shots at the team’s facility.
The Knicks will face the winner of the Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers starting next Tuesday, either in Detroit if the Pistons win or in New York if the Cavaliers do. Anunoby would be critical in either series as he would draw the Cade Cunningham assignment vs. Detroit, or spend time on Donovan Mitchell and James Harden against Cleveland.
In addition to playing elite defense, Anunoby is averaging 21.4 points a game these playoffs, shooting a ridiculous 53.8% from 3-point range, and is grabbing 7.5 assists a night. While Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns get the headlines, Anunoby has been critical to the Knicks’ return to the Eastern Conference Finals.
