Why isn’t OG Anunoby playing for the Knicks against the Pacers in game 7?
As they prepare for Sunday’s Game 7, the Knicks will do so with serious injury concerns. Of course, that’s notwithstanding the ones that the team already had.
After dominating the early games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indian Pacers, the New York Knicks have now found themselves in a tough spot with a depleted roster. Indeed, there are now key players who might not play in what is the team’s most critical game of the season.
OG Anunoby is in doubt for Game 7 and he’s not the only one
The Game 6 loss that placed the Knicks in the situation they now find themselves in was very costly and not just because of the result. You will know by now that Josh Hart left the game in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be an abdominal strain and did not return. As a result, Hart has now been listed as questionable ahead of Game 7, but sadly, he’s not the only one. There is also starting guard OG Anunoby who has been out since Game 2 with a hamstring strain. To be clear, Anunoby was upgraded to questionable and is reportedly expected to go through the shootaround on Sunday, but it will be a game-time decision for the team.
Again, while it is not certain that both players won’t play, there is the real possibility that it could be the case which would not be ideal for the Knicks, to say the least. Where Anunoby is concerned, the Knicks simply aren’t the same team when he’s not on the court. Consider for a moment that the Knicks went 20-3 during the regular season when he was in the lineup. As for this series, the Pacers have won three of the four games in which Anunoby has not played. Where Hart is concerned, it’s all about the minutes. The 29-year-old played the entirety of Game 1 and 2 which the Knicks won as well as 43 minutes of Game 3. There was somewhat less time in Games 4 and 5, but he did feature for 31 minutes in Game 6 before departing with the above-mentioned injury.
Ultimately, the Knicks are a solid side and have proven that in these playoffs, however, that has largely been down to a tight rotation policy where the team is concerned. While that has given greater consistency, the trade-off has been a greater physical tax on those who have been playing i.e., increased injuries. Though it may be that they can overcome the Pacers in Game 7, one has to wonder how they will cope with the Boston Celtics who await them in the Eastern Conference finals given how thin the roster is starting to look. Game 7 is set to tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Don’t miss it!