There aren’t a lot of things to complain about through two games of a series where you’ve won both games, especially in the ways the Knicks have won them.
But there was a somber feeling after the gritty Game 2 victory at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night because of the unknown status of OG Anunoby, who came up lame on a cut to the basket and left in the final three minutes of a tight game. The Knicks were able to close out the game, but had to hold their breaths.
It’s worth noting that, unlike his severe hamstring strain in 2024, Anunoby was much more fluid afterwards. He crumpled to the floor in pain mid-play in that Pacers series, while he hobbled and stayed in the game here. Either way, it seems to be of a lesser severity, and that seemed to be backed up by the recent report by Shams Charania that he’s questionable for Game 3:
Now, is this a true game-time decision questionable, or a gamesmanship questionable? I lean towards the latter, as even if this is not anything major, a Grade 1 hamstring strain feels like something that will take more than two days to recover from. Maybe it’s not that bad, and he’ll be ready for Game 4 if the Sixers avoid the 0-3 deficit tomorrow, but either way it seems like the Knicks should be cautious and play to their series advantage.
There are a lot of unknowns with both teams’ injury reports. Joel Embiid is still battling his general soreness, and Mitchell Robinson is battling an illness. Both of their statuses are paramount to the overall strategy of the game, but let’s assume that both play for the sake of trying to game-plan life without Anunoby.
The biggest thing you’re losing with Anunoby is his defense, especially on the red-hot Paul George. After George carried the Sixers’ offense early in Game 3, Anunoby did a fantastic job of clogging him up on the perimeter and keeping him from getting enough separation to fire up a 3. He also did a good job when switched onto guys like Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
On that end, the solution isn’t an easy one. The only proper forward on the bench is Mo Diawara, who I suspect could get some run, but won’t start. The Knicks could go to Landry Shamet off the bench, who found his way back into the rotation on Wednesday, and play to the fact that George hasn’t been aggressive off the bounce at all in this series, but would be taking a risk.
Who would even be the best option to replace Anunoby in the starting lineup? Conventional wisdom says Deuce McBride or a healthy Mitchell Robinson, but it can also be matchup-based. If Embiid is out, there’s going to be a lot of small ball for Philly, making the double big lineup not a priority. With Embiid, it would make sense to start Robinson to match their size and physicality.
What about Deuce McBride, who closed last night’s game despite a subpar offensive night? It would give you another defender to throw on Maxey or Edgecombe, and you could shift Josh Hart to George. He would certainly give you the off-ball shooting, but he can’t drive the way Anunoby has in the postseason.
That’s arguably the second biggest thing. Anunoby has been a force in the paint in the playoffs and has lived off cuts to the rim, something that nobody else on the roster can easily do. In a matchup where OG’s defense is more impactful with what he does off the ball, it might be the least replaceable.
He’s also been exceptional as a secondary rebounder. Late in the third quarter, he got a steal, two offensive rebounds, and nailed a go-ahead three-pointer in a span of 25 seconds. Considering the flow of the game, the way he willed that entire possession was extremely important.
You just can’t replace his impact; you can only hope to mitigate the magnitude of his loss. It’ll be a team effort, as the team is going to need even more from the likes of Bridges and Hart, while asking guys like Shamet, McBride, and maybe Diawara to step up for stretches. The one thing that this team has that they’ve lacked in recent years (especially last year) is tested, playable depth. With a 2-0 series lead, there’s as much margin for error as you can ask for in a postseason setting.
The best news of all of this is that Anunoby seems to have avoided a severe injury, something that would’ve been crippling to this team’s hopes of making the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years. It’s hard to tell when he’ll be back at this point, but it thankfully seems to be sooner rather than later.
