Knicks Flourishing Upon OG Anunoby's Return
The New York Knicks are closing in on a playoff spot, as a win on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN) will clinch nothing worse than a spot in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament.
But the team obviously has loftier goals in mind, such as the East's fourth seed and first-round homecourt advantage that comes with it. Entering this week, the Knicks (40-27) hold a half-game lead over Orlando for fourth and are three games up on seventh-place Miami.
The ongoing surge has coincided with the return of OG Anunoby, who came back on Tuesday night after missing the prior 18 games with an elbow injury. His comeback is enough to convince a list of late-season predictions from Bleacher Report that the Knicks will be hosting a first-round set for the first time since 2013.
"The upshot: New York suddenly looks far more likely to hold on to its No. 4 seed in the East, a welcome development after Orlando briefly seized it a few days ago," Bleacher Report's Grant Hugest wrote. "The Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and the perennially terrifying Miami Heat are all within a couple of games of the Knicks in the standings, but (checks notes) none of them has Anunoby on the roster."
"Basically, they either have OG Anunoby on the floor, or they don't. The former beats the daylights out of teams, while the latter struggles to survive."
The Knicks are 15-2 with Anunoby on the floor after their 98-91 win on Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings. New York has allowed less than 100 points in each of Anunoby's first three games back, part of their first five-game streak of that kind since 2015.
Anunoby's presence undoubtedly makes the Knicks a threat on both ends of the floor. His health could wind up being the major difference between a first-round victory and a lengthy playoff run that has eluded the Knicks throughout the new century.
