New York Knicks Guard OG Anunoby To Be Re-Evaluated In 2 Weeks
Just when you thought the New York Knicks’ injury report couldn’t get any more painful to read, the basketball gods decided to throw another curveball. Straight out of a sports soap opera, starting Forward OG Anunoby is the latest Knick to be sidelined, leaving fans wondering if they accidentally broke a mirror while walking under a ladder.
According to the NBA’s top news-breaker, Shams Charania, Anunoby is dealing with a strained left hamstring. The team has slapped a “re-evaluated in two weeks” timeline on him. This means Anunoby won’t even be packing his bags for the team’s upcoming five-game road trip.
Anunoby Injury Creates a Major Hole
Losing Anunoby feels like taking a gut punch, especially when you’re already trying to catch your breath. The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the Knicks are also sweating over the health of their star point guard, Jalen Brunson. Brunson was recently seen sporting a walking boot after an ankle sprain, a sight that sent a collective shiver down the spine of Knicks Nation.
With two of their main guys now in street clothes, the pressure shifts. It’s that classic “next man up” mentality, a phrase that gets thrown around a lot but is about to be tested in a big, big way at Madison Square Garden. Can the supporting cast rise to the occasion, or will this two-week stretch feel like an eternity?
Who Steps Up For the Knicks?
Luckily for the Knicks, they aren’t totally out of firepower. In their recent gritty win against the Miami Heat, Landry Shamet decided to have the game of his life, exploding for 36 points off the bench. After the game, Shamet highlighted the team’s winning mentality, stating, “What makes this group special, we got a lot of guys that just care about winning… It’s next man up. A lot of teams talk about that, but I think this group really embodies it.”
And let’s not forget about Karl-Anthony Towns. The big man was a force of nature against the Heat, dropping a monstrous 39 points and snagging 11 rebounds. With Anunoby out, expect the Knicks to feed KAT until his arms get sore. Towns himself acknowledged the need to fill the void, saying, “We all had to step up and contribute… I wanted to do my best to pick up the offense that he gives our team.”
The silver lining, if you can call it that, is that it’s still early in the season. There’s plenty of basketball left to play. The priority for the Knicks has to be getting Anunoby and Brunson fully healthy for the long haul, rather than rushing them back. It won’t be easy, but if the Knicks can weather this storm, it could be a character-building stretch that pays dividends down the road. For now, Knicks fans will be holding their breath and hoping the injury bug decides to pack its bags and leave town.
