PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks seem to have gotten the best news possible with OG Anunoby.
His right hamstring strain is “very minor,” noti.group’s Stefan Bondy reported, and he is considered day to day.
Anunoby is even listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 3 clash at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Still, even with the optimistic diagnoses, Friday may be too soon for him.
So if the Knicks don’t have him for Game 3, how does it affect their starting lineup and what are the ripple effects?
Let’s break it down:
1. The most likely replacement in the starting lineup is Miles McBride.
He closed the Knicks’ 108-102 Game 2 win at Madison Square Garden when Anunoby was in the locker room.
Often, McBride’s workloads more closely resemble a starter’s than a bench player’s.
And he has experience.
He started 15 games in the regular season.
When Mikal Bridges was twice benched in the first round, McBride closed with the other starters.
He’s been particularly effective when sharing a backcourt with Jalen Brunson — the Knicks have a net rating of plus-33.4 points per 100 possessions when the two share the floor.
But it should be noted that the Brunson-McBride-Bridges-Josh Hart-Karl-Anthony Towns lineup has played just five minutes together this postseason.
It has usually been Bridges, not Anunoby, who McBride replaces on the court when he plays with the starters.
So, this would be a new twist.
2. Knicks coach Mike Brown could also insert Mitchell Robinson — who is listed as probable (illness) for Game 3 and expected to return — into the starting lineup and roll with a double-big look.
Playing Robinson and Towns together is something Brown said he did not like to do during the first round because of the matchup problems it presents defensively, but he has since done it for brief stretches anyway.
Robinson and Towns have shared the floor for 16 minutes this postseason, during which the Knicks have a net rating of plus-19.5 points per 100 possessions.
How does this affect the Knicks on the court?
It will require the biggest adjustment on the defensive end.
Bridges has done a terrific job guarding Tyrese Maxey in the series.
But no Anunoby could change that.
3. If it’s McBride elevating to the starting lineup, it could mean he gets the Maxey assignment.
Anunoby was guarding Paul George, and McBride is much smaller than George.
It would make sense to have the bigger Bridges shift down and guard George, have McBride on Maxey and keep Brunson on Kelly Oubre, Hart on VJ Edgecombe and Towns on Joel Embiid — if he plays — or whomever the 76ers have at center.
McBride has guarded Maxey when Bridges has gone to the bench.
4. It gets trickier if Robinson starts in a double-big lineup, which is why it’s more likely that it will be McBride.
If Bridges is on Maxey, Brunson is on Oubre, Hart is on Edgecombe and Robinson is on Embiid or the 76ers center, that leaves Towns on … George.
That’s not a good matchup.
What are the domino effects to the bench?
5. The most obvious would be Landry Shamet returning to the rotation.
Other than a few minutes Wednesday, he has only played in garbage time since Game 2 of the first round.
A key bench weapon during the regular season, his shooting woes at the end of the regular season spilled into the start of the postseason.
And Brown said the Knicks offense grew “discombobulated” with Shamet serving as a makeshift backup point guard.
That meant Jose Alvarado, more of a natural point guard, took his spot in the rotation.
But if McBride moves to the starting lineup, his bench minutes have to go somewhere — Shamet is the most likely recipient.
6. If it’s Robinson in the starting lineup, or getting a bigger workload regardless, that could open up minutes for Ariel Hukporti or even Jeremy Sochan.
7. Brown’s ability to go with small-ball lineups is hampered, since Anunoby often played center in those groupings.
Anunoby is so important to so much the Knicks do on both ends of the floor.
So if he misses any time, there will be a lot of moving parts.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
