The Knicks grabbed a 2-0 lead in their second-round series with Indiana, but manpower is becoming a concern as they get closer to the Eastern Conference finals.
OG Anunoby left Wednesday’s game in the second half due to a sore left hamstring, the team announced (via Twitter). Speaking to reporters immediately following the contest, coach Tom Thibodeau said he hadn’t talked with the medical staff and couldn’t provide any details on the severity of the injury, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.
Before departing, Anunoby scored 28 points in 28 minutes, partly because Jalen Brunson was unavailable for the end of the second quarter due to soreness in his right foot. Brunson tested the foot at halftime and wound up playing the entire second half.
“A lot of toughness,” Thibodeau said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “That’s the makeup — we know that’s his makeup — but also the makeup of the team. He went in back, they worked on him, he warmed up and we didn’t know if he was going to go or not. Jalen never asks out of a game, so we knew it was something.”
New York trailed by 10 points at halftime, but Brunson’s return swung the momentum. The Knicks tied the game in a little over four minutes and took control with a 21-6 run.
Brunson told reporters he’s “all good” with the injury and he didn’t have any medical imaging done on his foot while he was in the locker room, Begley adds (Twitter link).
Josh Hart played the entire 48 minutes for the second straight game, posting a near triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Donte DiVincenzo logged nearly 44 minutes as Thibodeau leaned on a seven-man rotation.
“He’s a great leader,” Thibodeau said of Hart. “Players all have respect for that, when a guy is willing to give whatever he has. Look at what Josh has given us, you have great respect for that, says a lot. To me, the actions speak a lot more than the words.”
The Knicks were already short-handed entering the game after losing starting center Mitchell Robinson with a stress injury in his left ankle that will sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. That’s in addition to missing All-Star power forward Julius Randle, who hasn’t played since late January due to a separated shoulder, and Bojan Bogdanovic, who is out for the season due to foot and wrist injuries. Isaiah Hartenstein was on the court for 39 minutes tonight, while Precious Achiuwa saw 28 minutes off the bench.
Teammates are disappointed for Robinson, who battled his way from left ankle surgery in December so he could be available for the postseason, Popper adds in a separate story.
“It’s sad, especially from like a personal standpoint,” Hartenstein said. “We’re close. Knowing what he had to go through to get back, even when he was playing, he was giving us everything he had. I think without him, we wouldn’t have won the Philly series. It’s sad, but at this point, we’ve gotta be there to support him. Basketball wise, really it’s just next man up. We’ve gone through this all year. I think that’s something that gives us confidence. We’ve gone through this a million times. So it’s sad but I think it helps us now when we have something like this happen.”
Imagine if the Knicks were near healthy, they maybe true contenders.
Missing Randle, Mitch, Bogdanovich, now maybe OG.
Missing Randle isn’t missing much.
Yup missing Randle who is your teams leading rebounder, second leading scorer and second leading passer is nothing.
Have you seen them play? They’re not really suffering at all in any of those departments.
You might be overestimating the impact of some of these players.
Nope, they all give something if not a body so guys don’t have to play 40min every night. They are only in the 2nd round that is not sustainable.
Agree 100%
None of the guys you listed need to win a game for the Knicks, they could just ease the burden on the guys that are helping them win today.
Where is Taj when you need him
Detroit
The difference between Knicks and 76ers is mental toughness
Whenever 76ers play elimination games, there are
Embiid
Harden
Maxey
How can they win championships?
Mr current events over here.
I like Thibs and he’s making a great work indeed, but you have to wonder whether playing such short rotations is leading to an increased number of injuries. Burks, Sims or Milton are players who could get a few minutes and give some rest to the starters. Even Achiwa recorded for DNPs in the previous series. If OG or Brunson are out for an extended period, the Knicks are cooked.
The Knicks are still ok because they have the officiating crew helping them too.
He is playing them because he needs to. All the games have been close. Brunson is doing everything.
He’d love to be able to trust Precious or Burks but they’re not really at that level, and they can’t afford to have dead minutes.
OG’s injury is really the only one that you can maybe cite major minutes being a factor for. Randle was a hard contact play that separated his shoulder. Mitchell Robinson has been dealing with ankle/bone issues for a while, exacerbated by Embiid’s dirty play. Bojan another contact injury fighting for a loose ball. Maybe Brunson’s injury is wear-and-tear but there’s little info about it and he says he’s fine.
Mitch should have never come back this yr. This is the second time Knicks have did this to Mitch. Coming back too soon just to get hurt.
Robinson has a stress injury, which is, by definition, an overuse injury.
Really ???? I suggest you learn Mitch history.
Told y’all OG stays hurt… Good player but can’t stay healthy.
Didn’t this happen in Chicago under Thibs too? Would be interesting to see hard data for playoff injury games missed for Thibs-teams vs the rest of the league’s teams.
Seriously ……… ok
There is no reason why Sims can’t play 14-20 mins.
There is no reason why Achiuwa can’t play 20-24 mins.
There is no reason why McBride can’t play 20-24 mins.
Burkes and Milton should play.
No OG ???? Now what. Got choice but to go with Achiuwa mins. Have to give Sims mins too. He can guard Turner. Young legs.
Reason why Sims can’t play 14-20 mins. It’s the playoffs.
That’s why you can’t .
Pro ballers do it instinctively.
Achiuwa will probably start with OG out. You will see ….. that he is capable of giving you solid 20+ mins. Thibs has to use that. It’s best for the team.
IH and PA need to be cognizant that they can’t take dumb foul calls. Down two more bigs outside of Randle limits our ability to play aggressively on defense down low. If the Pacers are smart, they’ll amp up the usage of Tuner inside.
They don’t play inside. They drive inside.
Turner plays inside if he’s not out in the perimeter looking to drop a three.
NYK radio silence on OG is not encouraging. I can’t remember an instance in which this NYK FO delayed reporting on a player’s injury status, but, when they finally did, it was good news.
At a minimum, OG will have to want to play, and his own history suggests that if there is any pain involved, he might opt not to. Based on how some guys have looked playing through hamstring sprains, it might be the right decision.
Average days missed is 9. link to hashtagbasketball.com
I think they can put away Indy without him.
Interesting, that they break it down by left and right hamstrings. Based on OG’s game, I think it will be on the longer side. I agree that geting past IND, seeing they’re up 2-0, is still doable.
It’s about next yr. No need to hurt anyone. Mitch should have never come back.
Al – Mitch came back because he was cleared to (by the medical people), and, as a player, he wanted to. Nobody else has a vote or even voice in it. If you’re suggesting that his most recent injury (stress fracture) was caused by him coming back “too soon” after his initial surgery, then provide the basis of your medical opinion (because that’s what it is). Realize, as you do so, though, that the medical people involved obviously disagree with you. They include the orthopedic surgeons at HSS, known as the best orthopedic hospital in the world. Doesn’t mean they’re right, and you’re wrong, but that should be the presumption absent any evidence to the contrary.
Game 1 —
Pacers :: 46/88 fga, 52.3 FG%, 38.5% (3PT) 10/26, 15/19 FTA, 78.9 % FT,
32 reb, 32 ast
Knicks :: 44/82 fga, 53.7 FG%, 47.8% (3PT) 11/23, 22/28 FTA, 84.6% FT
49 reb, 25 ast
Pacers took 6 more shots. Got out rebounded. Knicks had 14 TO to Pacers 7.
Fact you lost here. Is cause you can’t rebound at end of gm. So you cry about the calls.
Game 2 —
Pacers :: 48/93 fga, 51.6 FG%, 44.1% (3PT) 15/34, 10/17 FTA, 58.8% FT, 34 reb. 33 ast
Knicks :: 49/86 fga, 57.0 FG%, 46.7% (3PT) 14/30, 18/22 FTA, 81.8% FT,
44 reb, 28 ast
Here you lose by 9. And you cry More about calls. How do you lose by 9 to refs. Again You took NINE more shots.
Knicks play to win. Pacers play to survive. Even missing two starters. Getting two more starters hurt. We still win by nine. Reggie called it Pacers Choke …..