All was well for the New York Knicks after they acquired OG Anunoby in a deal with the Toronto Raptors. Knicks fans who may have been upset that the team traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley soon forgot about those feelings as the team kept winning with Anunoby. Unfortunately for the Knicks, things have gone south since OG Anunoby suffered an injury.
The 26-year-old Anunoby has not appeared in a game since January 27. He was a late scratch in a January 29 game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a right elbow injury. Anunoby has now missed each of New York’s last 18 games.
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. pic.twitter.com/AcsECtLgkN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 11, 2024
That stretch may not extend any further though as OG Anunoby’s return could be right around the corner. The Knicks have changed his status on the injury report from out to questionable, and reports are that Anunoby has a good chance of playing Tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Knicks Could See Starting Forward Return on Tuesday
The Knicks Were Clicking on All Cylinders With OG Anunoby
The month of January was a magical one for the Knicks. They went 14-2 in the month, 12-2 with Anunoby whose debut with the team was on New Year’s Day.
In all 14 of Anunoby’s appearances with New York, he finished with a positive in the plus/minus column. The Knicks outscored their opponents by 18 points per game in Anunoby’s 35.7 minutes per contest.
Highest +/- since Christmas:
+267 — OG Anunoby
[huge gap]
+178 — Jalen Williams pic.twitter.com/45pJZLGjjW— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 26, 2024
The team has not endured that level of success without the defensive stopper though. After winning their first three games without him, they are just 5-10 since. The Knicks have also been missing starting frontcourt players Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson during that stretch. The trade for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks hasn’t yet worked out like the Knicks were hoping for.
Knicks Trying to Avoid Play-In Tournament
Due in large part to that wildly successful January, the Knicks currently sit in fourth place with a 37-27 record. With four teams biting on their heels right behind them their work is still cut out for them.
They are a half game ahead of the fifth-seeded Orlando Magic, one game ahead of the sixth-seeded 76ers, 1.5 games ahead of the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers, and two games ahead of the eighth-seeded Miami Heat. A top-six seed is needed at the end of the regular season to guarantee a playoff spot and avoid the Play-In Tournament.
An OG Anunoby return is a start to what the Knicks hope is a return back to their prior dominance. Sunday’s loss to the 76ers showed how much they miss Randle on a night where Jalen Brunson’s shooting was off target and the team scored just 73 points.
Anunoby was named to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2022-23. He finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting and led the league averaging 1.9 steals per game. Anunoby’s elite defensive impact and two-way abilities could help save the Knicks season.
