The New York Knicks are currently the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference with a guaranteed playoff spot. But a dark cloud surrounds the franchise in the form of injuries right before the playoffs.
The Knicks’ regular season was full of injuries, and just when everyone thought that the injury barrier was lifting, OG Anunoby’s injury started causing problems, and it was too severe to play through the pain.
Anunoby’s elbow injury ruins his three-game comeback
As the Knicks’ starting lineup was getting healthier, they were hit with the bad news that OG Anunoby’s elbow had started to cause problems again. According to Stephan Bondy from the New York Post, the starting forward is suffering from pain and won’t be able to play through it.
The veteran made his appearance on the court for three straight games, but then he was ruled out for the match against the Golden State Warriors on Monday because of problems with his elbow. Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks’ head coach, told the reporters that Anunoby has gone back to New York to get the MRI done and will return only if the reports are fine.
“We want to make sure that he’s completely healthy,” Thibodeau said via The Athletic reporter Fred Katz. “We knew this was a possibility when you bring a guy back from surgery. If there’s discomfort and stuff and he can’t function the way that we feel he needs to function on the court we’re just going to give him the time that he needs to let it calm down and we’ll go from there.”
Anunoby returned to the Knicks’ lineup on March 12 against the 76ers
On February 8th, Anunoby had elbow surgery where loose particles were removed from his right elbow. He was out for 18 games after his surgery and finally returned to the lineup on March 12 in a matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.
He played three games since the return but was ruled out because of irritation in his elbow. The Knicks acquired Anunoby during midseason from the Toronto Raptors, and he has proved to be a valuable player for the team, going 15-2 when he is on the court. He averaged 14.5 points per game with 4.9 rebounds.
Coming out of the injury, his performance was not up to par, as he only scored 2 points while shooting 1-8 from the field in the last match he played, which was against the Sacramento Kings. In the other two games he played after his return, he scored 26 points, shooting 11-22 from the field combined.
With Julius Randle out due to a shoulder injury, we hope to see both Anunoby and Randle on the court soon for the upcoming playoffs.
