OG Anunoby appears to be ready for the Eastern Conference final.
For the second straight day, he practiced fully, and while the standout two-way wing wouldn’t guarantee he would be available for Game 1 on Tuesday against either the Cavaliers or the Pistons, it sure sounds that will be the case.
For starters, he is able to sprint.
“Getting better each day,” Anunoby said after Saturday’s practice, which included some full-contact work. “Feel good today.”
Anunoby suffered a mild right hamstring strain late in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the 76ers. He was listed as questionable for the following two games, but didn’t play in either contest.
The Knicks may have dodged a bullet, unlike two years ago when a hamstring injury sidelined Anunoby early in a second-round series loss to the Pacers. He injured the hamstring in Game 2 of that series, and tried to play in Game 7, but clearly wasn’t healthy. When this injury happened, he didn’t get flashbacks.
“It wasn’t like the previous ones, for sure,” he said. “So, it was better than before. … I never think about the past. Just dealing with it in the moment. It didn’t feel as bad as it had in the past when it happened, so just knowing that, just trying to improve it day by day.”
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Getting Anunoby back is obviously a major plus for the Knicks, even if they did crush the 76ers by a combined 44 points in the two games that he missed. Both Landry Shamet and Miles McBride played well in his absence. But Anunoby is a difference-maker at both ends of the floor.
At the time of his injury, he was averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks in the playoffs. He was also shooting a sensational 53.8 percent on 4.9 attempts from 3-point range, and the Knicks were outscoring the opposition by 20 points per 100 possessions with him on the court.
“To go through that is not fun during this time of the year, because a lot of things come into play. We’re trying to get to the top of the mountain during this time of the year. You need some luck, you need some skill, you need everybody to be healthy to a certain degree,” coach Mike Brown said. “All that stuff, you want, knock on wood, to be going the right way for you whenever game time comes.”
While much has been made of the extended, nine-day layoff following the sweep of the 76ers, the one major bonus is it has given Anunoby time to get healthy. He will have had 12 days off by the time Game 1 rolls around Tuesday.
“He’s been back. He looks good to me,” Mikal Bridges said. “So, I think maybe the crowd, maybe the fans and media worried a little bit more, but I know how OG works and how his body is. I think he’ll be all right.”
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