The New York Knicks will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Knicks are coming off a hard-fought Game 2 win on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. While the win was great, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby suffered injuries, which is not ideal considering that the Knicks were already without Mitchell Robinson, who was out with an illness.
Hart reportedly sustained a thumb injury but finished the game on Wednesday night. However, Anunoby went down with a hamstring injury, which gave Knicks fans flashbacks to 2024. During that playoff run, the veteran wing got banged up with the same injury, with the Knicks up 2-0 on the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and New York ended up losing the series.
Knicks fans hope that this isn’t the same scenario this time around. They received some good news involving Anunoby on Thursday. The veteran wing’s hamstring injury is reportedly not serious, and according to Stefan Bondy of the NY Post, it is “very, very, minor.”
With that being said, New York hopes Anunoby can give it a go tonight in Philadelphia, along with Hart and Robinson. Here’s everything we know about the three veteran Knicks:
Update — May 8, 6:26 p.m. ET: Despite being ruled out for Game 3, OG Anunoby still traveled with the Knicks to Philadelphia, according to the New York Post's Stefan Bondy.
Update — May 8, 6:08 p.m. ET: According to The Athletic's James L. Edwards III, X-rays revealed that Josh Hart doesn't have a broken hand, hence why he's sitting up. Hart reportedly told the media, "... there are players who have played through the injury he has and won."
Update — May 8, 5:43 p.m. ET: Mike Brown added that OG Anunoby is "day-to-day" but didn't elaborate beyond that, per The Athletic's James L. Edwards III.
Update — May 8, 5:40 p.m. ET: Just over an hour before tip-off, Knicks head coach Mike Brown announced that OG Anunoby will be OUT for Game 3 while Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart are both ACTIVE (h/t SNY Knicks Video).
On Friday afternoon, Bondy reported that the veteran forward remains questionable. Ian Begley of SNY reported on Thursday that there’s “optimism” inside the Knicks locker room that he can play in Game 3 or 4.
If you’re a Knicks fan, you’re happy to see that Anunoby hasn’t been downgraded or ruled out, which keeps the door open towards playing. He’s been playing outstanding thus far in the NBA playoffs. He’s averaging 21.4 points per game on an efficient 61.9% shooting from the field and 53.8% from three-point range. He’s also doing an excellent job on defense on the perimeter, while also crashing the boards, posting 7.5 rebounds per game.
Now, if the Knicks don’t want to risk it with Anunoby in Game 3, they could push Miles McBride into the starting lineup, who is struggling to generate consistent offense, but is the perfect guy to defend Tyrese Maxey.
The veteran forward, who does a little bit of everything for the Knicks, has reportedly been upgraded to probable with a sprained thumb, per Bondy.
Hart stuffed the statsheet in Wednesday night’s win, with five points (2-of-6 FG, 1-of-5 3PT), six assists, three steals, and four turnovers in 44 minutes of action. While the four turnovers aren’t ideal, as that’s the most he’s had in the playoffs thus far, the Knicks will live with it, especially with what they’re getting from everybody else in the starting lineup.
The fact that Hart is listed as probable is a good sign, but one does wonder if the thumb injury will impact his ability to crash the glass or even knock down shots. Through the first two games in this series, he’s 1-of-7 from three-point range, which is a far cry from when these two teams played each other in the playoffs two years ago (43.2%).
According to the NBA’s latest injury report on Friday afternoon, Robinson is listed as probable for Game 3 against Philadelphia. The veteran center surprisingly missed Wednesday night’s game with an illness.
It was not ideal for the Knicks, given the foul trouble that Karl-Anthony Towns got into in Game 1, and they would have to lean more on Ariel Hukporti in relief. Thankfully, the 76ers did not have Joel Embiid, which helped the Knicks, who had to only worry about Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, and Dominick Barlow.
Towns got into a bit of trouble in Game 2, but he still managed to put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in 27 minutes. Meanwhile, Hukporti recorded two points and three rebounds in seven minutes.
With Embiid’s availability also up in the air, the Knicks would love to have Robinson back on the floor, just in case the Sixers’ star big man plays. In Game 1, Robinson only had two points, four rebounds, and an assist in 12 minutes of action.
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