For all the hemming and hawing over the New York Knicks lacking a conventional floor general coming off their bench, the latest OG Anunoby injury update shines a spotlight on a much bigger problem: They don’t have enough wings.
This sounds bizarre to say about a rotation that features Anunoby, the best-ever version of Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. But ask yourself this: Who does New York have after them?
The answer is, apparently, no one. And that truth is getting laid bare following the news from ESPN’s Shams Charania that Anunoby will miss at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain.
The Knicks could be without Anunoby for a while
Pay special attention to the “at least” element of this injury. Charania notes that Anunoby is scheduled to be “re-evaluated” in two weeks. That is not necessarily a timeline for return. It is a timeline for the next update.
Hamstring injuries can be fickle. According to Jeff Stotts on In Street Clothes, lower-grade hamstring strains cost NBA players around two weeks, but that number rises to 30 days if it’s a Grade 2 rather than a Grade 1.
Though we don’t yet know the specifics of Anunoby’s situation, the Knicks are bound to be extra careful with Anunoby. His injury history isn’t the cleanest, and they have no choice other than to play the (slightly) longer game knowing how important he is to, well, everything—but especially the defense.
Speaking of which…
New York doesn’t have enough wings to paper over Anunoby’s absence
There is no covering up for Anunoby in a vacuum. He is mission critical for wiping out flaws in Karl-Anthony Towns-at-center lineups. In the time KAT has played the 5 without OG on the floor, the Knicks are allowing 1.29 points per possession, which is the equivalent of the league’s worst defense…by a mile.
This isn’t just about insulating Towns’ biggest weaknesses, either. New York is losing its best bigger-wing and combo forward defender. Anunoby is the person they throw at guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Franz Wagner, Evan Mobley, and more. Bridges is not suited for that same kind of responsibility, and Hart shouldn’t be doing it for longer than short stretches.
More than anything, the Knicks’ wing rotation is thin in the rawest terms. Hart is the only wing coming off the bench. Head coach Mike Brown doesn’t seem inclined to give rookie Mohamed Diawara or sophomore Pacome Dadiet a crack at establishing themselves. He prefers to use the admittedly scorching-hot Landry Shamet, play with two bigs, or roll out three guards.
Perhaps this changes in the wake of the Anunoby news. Maybe they try to seek out a trade if it looks like OG will miss more than five to 10 games. Or perhaps they dump Dadiet so they can sign a free-agent stopgap, which they currently don’t have enough money to do.
Failing any of that, the pressure and workload is about to climb for Bridges and Hart. Because without a move or sudden youthful breakout, they’re the only Knicks wings left standing.