Initial reports on OG Anunoby's hamstring strain were overwhelmingly optimistic, with some, such as ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, going as far as to describe it as a mere "tweak." Based on multiple accounts, it appeared he could have even suited up for the New York Knicks during the final two games of their semifinal bout against Philadelphia if they needed him to.
Fortunately for New York, they were able to coast to a four-game sweep over their divisional rivals without his services. Unfortunately, however, there's a realistic chance they may not be able to get them back even for the start of the Eastern Conference Finals... not fully, anyway.
On Friday, X (formerly Twitter) was flooded with images and video clips of Anunoby in sweats during the Knicks' latest practice session, with the New York Post's Stefan Bondy revealing that this is far from the first time the forward has been found "not in uniform for practice" since sustaining his strain nearly two weeks ago.
The sad reality is that, though many were originally peddling OG's injury as just "day-to-day," hamstring ailments, regardless of their severity, are rarely simple to recover from.
The Knicks learned this the hard way back during their 2024 postseason run, where Anunoby suffered a hammy strain in their second-round bout against the Pacers and, despite having over a week of rest and rehab under his belt before returning for their ill-fated Game 7, was by no means even close to full strength upon his return.
Considering this established history, coupled with these social media posts, expectations for Anunoby's return to form may need to be tempered.
Knicks might want to consider having OG Anunoby come off the bench
Even if he's medically cleared to return for the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, there's an argument to be made that the Knicks should proceed with caution and bring him off the pine in a reserve role right out of the gates.
Though the idea of utilizing arguably their best player this postseason in a sixth man role may sound rather odd, such an approach has already proven to be both effective and successful by another title-contender.
The Timberwolves opted to bring their cornerstone guard, Anthony Edwards, off the pine for the first two games of their ongoing semifinal series against the Spurs while initially making his way back from a multi-game absence with a left knee injury.
The results absolutely shocked the masses, as Minnesota managed to steal home-court advantage from the heavily favored Spurs and, as things currently stand, is looking to push this series to a winner-take-all Game 7.
Being the Knicks already have shown they can dominate without Anunoby in the first five lineup, as they have led the league in points per game (126.0), point differential (plus-22.0), and net rating (22.3) with their rotation of Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns, perhaps taking this page out of the T-Wolves' playbook might not be such a bad idea.
Add us as a preferred source on Google