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 doesn’t seem overly concerned about the injury.
Anunoby averaged 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game this season and is expected to be in the running to make the second All-Defensive 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 rotation for the season finale against the Hornets, per Bondy (Twitter link). In addition to Anunoby, the Knicks sat 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 carrying over what worked for the Knicks last season while adding lineup flexibility and amplifying the voices of the assistant coaches, Steve Popper writes for Newsday. When asked about his performance 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 and the Magic are technically still in play. New York should feel comfortable scouting Toronto, Bondy writes, given the team’s familiarity with a division rival 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.
Whoa whoa whoa! Hey Knicks, you can’t just sit your roster and not play everybody at full force in a game that has zero outcome on the playoffs. That violates our gamb– err, tanking guidelines! We have to be considerate of the fans’ parl–… experiences.
*Knicks fined $50k for violating player participation policies.*
I’ll pay the fine. Bench needed those mins to be ready for playoffs. I like that actually.
53 wins is better than last year. Hard to believe all year it seemed Knicks were doing worse. That social media negativity is for REAL lols. I like our bench. Counting on it tor playoffs. Lets Go Knicks 👏👏
Knicks -vs- Hawks. We are bigger and deeper than Hawks. Have to make them feel that. Hawks are a good young team. Better not be looking ahead. 🙏
It’s funny what the league chooses to get upset over stating that part of the problem with load management is the dimished fan experience when teams sit their star players all at once. In game 81 OKC vs Nuggets there wasn’t a single starter in the game for either side. Can you imagine how great the fan experience was for the guy that dropped down $250 per ticket and all the other expenses that go with the event to watch Jonas Valaciunas and Branden Carlson lead reach team in scoring with 23 points? I mean some of these guys i never ever heard of before. They couldn’t rest half the starters for 1 game and the other half the next? pay them for 20 minutes in the first half and then test them? I mean those two teams aren’t playing again until Thursday the earliest. That’s enough rest.