Oh gee, or a sentiment far saltier, the Knicks sure could use OG Anunoby right about now.
With Josh Hart joining the growing list of injured rotation regulars, Anunoby is going to try to play in Sunday’s Game 7 against the Pacers after missing the past four games with a hamstring injury suffered in Game 2 against the Pacers.
Both Anuboby and Hart (abdominal strain) were listed as questionable Saturday on the official injury report the Knicks submitted to the NBA.
ESPN had reported Saturday that Anunoby already had been ruled out for Game 7, but a source said the two-way wing will go through a closed walk-through before the 3:30 p.m. tip-off before it’s determined whether he will play.
The Knicks have posted a massive .839 winning percentage (26-5, playoffs included) with Anunoby in the lineup this season, which would extrapolate to 68.8 wins over an 82-game slate if maintained.
The 26-year-old Anunoby easily was the boldest trade acquisition of Leon Rose’s tenure as team president, but the 2023 All-Defensive team selection hasn’t been able to shake his preceding reputation of often being unavailable since the late-December trade that sent former first-round picks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors.
Anunoby has been listed as day-to-day for more than 10 days since suffering his latest injury, and that was after he’d also missed 32 games in two stints due to an elbow issue that required surgery in February.
Anunoby averaged roughly 59 appearances over his previous five seasons with Toronto; he also was unavailable for the Raptors’ postseason championship run in 2019 due to an appendectomy.
He clearly was hobbled right away by this hamstring issue after a drive to the basket in Game 2.
The Knicks are facing their most important home game in nearly three decades, their first Game 7 at MSG since the Patrick Ewing finger-roll loss against Indiana in 1995.
Anunoby has not spoken to the media since he was injured.
Thibodeau only has issued minor updates, such as a resumption of “light workouts” before Game 5 earlier this week in New York.
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After Friday’s game, a tight-lipped Thibodeau said Anunoby’s status was “whatever medical says,” but when asked what “medical” has told him, he responded only with “he’s day-to-day.”
Even if he doesn’t play Sunday, if the Knicks win, it’s still a possibility that Anunoby could be back to open the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics on Tuesday in Boston.
Either way, the organization must decide this summer whether to lavish a long-term contract on Anunoby, who can become an unrestricted free agent if he declines a 2024-25 option worth $19.9 million by the June 24 deadline.
Assuming he opts out, the Knicks can offer him the most money while using his Bird Rights to exceed the salary cap.
Last summer, Anunoby notably broke ties with Klutch Sports to join CAA — Rose’s former agency — and one of his listed reps is Sam Rose, Leon’s son.
