No OG Anunoby? Big problem for Knicks

“We’ll see what it is, but next man up,” he said. “That’s really it.”

If Anunoby can’t go, the starters will automatically need to pick up the slack. That could mean more minutes — for example, with Towns limited to 27 minutes on Tuesday, all four remaining starters logged 37 or more minutes in a six-point Knicks win.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT

Anunoby appeared in 67 of the Knicks’ 82 games this season. When he missed nine straight games with a left hamstring injury, head coach Mike Brown inserted Landry Shamet into the starting lineup. Shamet, however, re-injured his previously dislocated shoulder shortly after, and Brown then turned to Miles McBride as a starter before Anunoby returned to the rotation. McBride has been seeking his shooting rhythm ever since his March return from sports hernia surgery. He shot one-of-five from the field in the Game 2 victory and just 32% from the field for 5.8 points a game in the first-round series against the Hawks.

“Extremely comfortable,” McBride said when asked about the idea of starting in place of Anunoby. “I feel like the coaching staff trusts me, I know my teammates trust me and I trust myself overall. So if that happens, I know I’ll be ready.”

Brown has also experimented with promising rookie Mohamed Diawara as a fill-in starter with Anunoby out of the rotation, but when healthy, Shamet has been the go-to as a starter on the wing.

Shamet is averaging roughly 10 minutes a game in the playoffs and did not score in eight minutes of play in Game 2 against the Sixers. He has played eight or fewer minutes four games and 10 or more four games during the postseason.

Shamet, however, averaged 23 minutes per game this season — his most since his 2020-21 season with the Brooklyn Nets — and averaged 9.3 points on 39.2% shooting from 3-point range.

“I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” team captain Jalen Brunson said of Anunoby’s injury after the game. “I don’t know too much.”

The Knicks are about to find out exactly how much they need their star forward to reach new heights this season. New York acquired the starting forward in a Dec. 30, 2023 deal that sent R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a coveted second-round pick to the Raptors. The Knicks then signed him to a franchise-record five-year, $212.5M deal as an unrestricted free agent the summer following the deal.

Anunoby sustained a left hamstring injury in Game 2 of the Knicks’ 2024 Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against the Indiana Pacers. He returned, clearly limited, to play five minutes in Game 6 — 11 days later. The Pacers eliminated the Knicks in six.