Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Brown, Injury Report, First Round

The Knicks got a scare during Friday night’s victory over the Raptors as starting forward OG Anunoby missed the second half of the game with an ankle injury, seemingly suffered when he tripped on the foot of Scottie Barnes early in the second quarter, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

While Anunoby sat out Sunday’s game against the Hornets, there was reason for optimism, as Bondy reports (via Twitter) that, according to the coaching staff, the 6’8″ wing is considered day-to-day, and the team does not seem to consider the injury something overly concerning.

Anunoby averaged 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals this season and is expected to be in the running to make the second All-Defense team of his career.

We have more from the Knicks:

• After securing the third seed in the East, the Knicks opted to rest most of their main rotation for the season finale against the Hornets, per Bondy (Twitter link). In addition to Anunoby, the Knicks made the decision to sit Mitchell Robinson, Jalen Brunson, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Mikal Bridges started, in order to keep his games-played streak alive, but was pulled just 23 seconds into the game as Jordan Clarkson took his spot.
• Head coach Mike Brown has done a good job keeping the things that worked from last season while adding lineup flexibility and increasing the voices of the assistant coaches, Steve Popper writes for Newsday. When asked about his performance as coach relative to the expectations he set for himself coming in, Brown says he hasn’t gotten a chance to think about it much. “The things that you set as your standard are the things that I brought to the table for the standard in terms of sacrificing, being connected, everybody having a competitive spirit and everybody having true belief of each other in the process,” he said. “While I’m trying to hold people accountable, people are holding me accountable, too. All those things are the things you hope for. I didn’t put a number on how many wins or anything like that.”
• The most likely playoff outcome for the Knicks is playing the Raptors in the first round, though the Hawks remain a strong possibility. The Knicks should feel comfortable scouting Toronto, Bondy writes, given their familiarity with the inter-division team that features several former Knicks. Bondy breaks down the three playoff possibilities in anticipation of Sunday’s slate of games, which will determine the first-round matchup once and for all.