Getty OG Anunoby dribbling.
After an embarrassing game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks have hit their lowest point of the season. The Knicks scored just 73 points in a 79-73 loss on March 10, making it the first time since 2016 that two teams scored below 80 points in a game. Scoring less than 80 points is unheard of in the modern NBA, but that’s what happens when the Knicks are severely injured. Fortunately, it sounds like OG Anunoby could be on his way to help the team after dealing with a right elbow injury that required surgery.
Shams Charania of “Run It Back FanDuel TV” provided the latest on Anunoby.
“OG Anunoby is close, this is right around the time that he’s been expected to be back on the floor. So look over the next week or so, OG Anunoby will be back on the court.”
“OG Anunoby is close, this is right around the time that he’s been expected to be back on the floor. So look over the next week or so, OG Anunoby will be back on the court.”
@ShamsCharania updates on OG Anunoby’s injury.
This report comes after Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau hinted at Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson returning in the near future.
“They can travel. Hopefully, OG gets cleared and should be able to play.”
Tom Thibodeau gives an update on OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson:
“They can travel. Hopefully OG gets cleared and should be able to play.”
Later on March 11, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the latest on Anunoby’s injury.
Knicks forward OG Anunoby – out since Jan. 27 with elbow injury – is expected to return as soon as Tuesday vs. 76ers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. He’s expected to be upgraded on injury report.
From the sound of things, Anunoby could return against the 76ers.
Knicks Struggles on Full Display Against 76ers
The New York Knicks are 4-6 in their last 10 games, barely holding onto the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York is a .5 game ahead of the Orlando Magic and 1 game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the last 15 games, the Knicks have the 10th worst net rating in basketball at -4.4. When they went on a 14-2 run and had just added Anunoby, they posted a 15.8 net rating in January, the best in basketball by 5.6 points.
When the Knicks played the Golden State Warriors on February 29, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about the struggles the Knicks were facing, pointing at the injuries as the reason why.
“Obviously the Knicks were shorthanded tonight. They’re going through it right now from an injury standpoint. So we caught them on a night when they had to play their guys a lot of minutes. That’s never easy.”
“Obviously the Knicks were shorthanded tonight. They’re going through it right now from an injury standpoint. So we caught them on a night when they had to play their guys a lot of minutes. That’s never easy.”
–– Warriors coach Steve Kerr
He added how well they were playing a month ago before dealing with the injuries.
“Obviously, they’ve been crushed by injuries, they were playing better than anybody a month or so ago, but it’s all part of it. We all go through stuff in the season and they’re obviously going through it. We know their team even though we don’t see them often, we know Jalen Brunson really well, we know Josh Hart really well…Tom’s teams are always gritty and defensive-minded.”
Steve Kerr on Knicks: “Obv they’ve been crushed by injuries, were playing better than anybody a month or so ago…Don’t see them often [but] we know Jalen Brunson really well…Josh…coaching them last summer…Tom’s teams always gritty & defensive-minded…”
Julius Randle Injury Update
Charania gave an update on New York Knicks star Randle, too, but it sounds like he’s going to be out longer than Anunoby.
“Julius Randle continues to go through workouts. His shoulder injury is one where he has to make sure he goes through the entire rehab. For OG Anunoby, it was about getting back on the floor, being able to shoot again, being able to get back to doing contact work. For Julius Randle, it’s a lot more with that shoulder injury.”
Things are shaping up for the Knicks to get healthy. With the playoffs starting on April 20, the time is now for the Knicks to put it all together and get back on the court.