OG Anunoby had a relatively silent night in the New York Knicks' second loss at home this season. The team was playing its third game in four days and looked tired against the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat them 116-107. Two-way stud OG Anunoby struggled majorly, scoring just two points on 1-of-9 shooting that included four failed 3-point attempts. Outside of his woes shooting from distance, though, Knicks head coach Mike Brown didn't understand how Anunoby was officiated on his drives to the basket. He said as much after the game.
Brown thinks Anunoby deserves more foul calls
The Knicks' coach said that Anunoby is refereed differently than other players on drives to the rim. He gave grace to the officials, throwing out a layer of protection against any potential fines, but went on to lament the lack of consistency in how NBA players are officiated.
"It’s a weird game, and the officials- they got a tough job, but I don’t know if I’ll ever understand what’s a foul and what’s not a foul ... guys, they’ll put their head down and they'll drive the ball from point A to point B. And if you lead with your chest, and they're able to flop or fall off you good enough, it's a foul," Brown explained to reporters postgame on Friday.
"OG's a big, strong guy. When he drives, he doesn't [flop or fall off defenders]. He's trying to attack the rim and he’s getting rerouted on his drive," Brown said, "but he can’t seem to get a call."
Anunoby's physical drives are key for Knicks' offense
Anunoby averages the fourth-most drives per game on the Knicks this season. That's behind just Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges. Nobody on the team is going to come close to Brunson's averages, with the other three all averaging fewer than half of his drives, but getting Anunoby going toward the rim is a great way to reap the benefits of his 6'7", 240lb frame, agility, and great feel for the game.
Brown did not blame referees for Anunoby's lack of 3-point accuracy. But even when acknowledging the wing's misses, he couldn't help but tie things back to his original point.
"I thought his aggression was there, he just couldn’t get to the free-throw line. I thought he had a couple of good looks from the three-point line and it just kinda got away from him, but I’m not sure what he can do right now to get a call on his drives ... he’s getting hit just like everybody else is, but he’s a little bit bigger than some of those other guards that are getting the calls," Brown argued.
Regardless of whether or not Anunoby gets more calls as a result of Brown's comments, the British wing is in the middle of a great year. He's outperforming his career averages in points, rebounds, and assists averaging the fewest minutes per game he's played since 2019-20. He should keep up whatever he's been doing and trust that the rest will fall into place.