We witnessed a vision for the industry.
Ball movement, defense, and winning.
OG Anunoby only took 12 shots in his Knicks debut on Monday, but didn't that count in a way? Offensive variance was one of the reasons New York sacrificed RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, who combined for 33 points per game, to get Anunoby. Anunoby appeared in the afternoon with zero practice time and continued to fit into the Knicks like Jack Nicholson's sunglasses.
Personally it annoys me when writers detail new negative stories about players who just left, but this is what I've said many times about Barrett, he's still the No. 9 in the orange and blue. was wearing
The Canadians are not facilitators, so they need to use the ball effectively.
He isn't athletic enough to be a good defender.
And his 3-point shooting is below average.
Anunoby is essentially the opposite at small forward. Although he can't create his own chances off the dribble like Barrett, the 26-year-old All-Defense selection does space the floor thanks to his skilled 3-point shooting. He had three downs on six attempts Monday, including a momentum-changing shot with about nine minutes left in the fourth. Unclogged lanes thanks to Anunoby's long-range threat were critical to the Knicks' success, especially as Julius Randle navigated the paint for a 39-point gem.
“It seems like the perfect piece to complement our team well,” Randle said.
This was all due to Anunoby's instincts. As he said after the game, “Reading and reacting…that was everything, really.” Anunoby, a man of few words, entered MSG with only a playbook to study from the night before and celebrated New Year's Eve alone in his hotel room.
Anunoby then played 35 minutes, scored 17 points, posted a team-best plus/minus (plus-19), and was trusted by Tom Thibodeau to guard Minnesota's budding superstar Anthony Edwards. .
Not a bad debut.
“I think the first game was impressive, just getting ready and figuring it out on the fly,” Thibodeau said. “We played smart. … We played great defense. We hustled without the ball. We made big shots. It's a great start.
“That means a lot to us.”
Anunoby could have played more, but he fouled out with four minutes to go before the Garden applause, giving him his first taste of New York's appreciation for a player who doesn't need to light up the scoreboard to impact a win. The reaction wasn't as strong as love at first sight, but it was certainly impressive, much like it was with Josh Hart last season.
And it could just as easily be a long-term deal in the form of a lucrative new contract this summer. A lot can happen over the next six months, but I'm confident that Anunoboye and the Knicks will come to an agreement.
why?
Let's just say that the forward's CAA agents, Andrew Morrison and Sam Rose, were seated in the Knicks' front office for Monday's game.
By the way, Sam is Leon Rose's son.
Wink wink.
“I leave those things up to my agent,” Anunoby said of his free agency.
Remember, New Year's Day was uplifting, but this is not of trade. Rose shouldn't still be hoarding all his draft picks.
It may be difficult to accept the release of a raw player sent to the Raptors, but the Knicks faithful should view the Anunoby deal that way. The Knicks are better today, but they're not title contenders. The hardest part for the front office still remains. It's a superstar acquisition that could give the Knicks a real chance to break a 50-plus year championship drought. And that will likely have to happen via trade, as the NBA landscape has changed with star players signing lucrative extensions and forgoing free agency.
This could be Rose's bigger plan. We guess, but we don't know, because the Knicks president never talks about it, at least on the record, even on New Year's Day, when he completed the biggest trade of his tenure.
Still, his new recruit's play was pretty eloquent.
“I would say OG is a good fit,” Jalen Brunson said.
