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Jalen Brunson is largely a familiar entity within the Knicks lineup.
In dissecting the Knicks’ offensive strategy, Brunson can be considered the foundation, while his teammates represent the potential limits of their success. A pivotal figure in this dynamic is OG Anunoby. When Anunoby plays with aggression and is actively involved in the offense, it often heralds positive outcomes for the team.
This season, the Knicks boast a 22-4 record in games where Anunoby scores 20 points or more. His standout performances in recent victories against the Grizzlies and Bulls, where he racked up 25 and 31 points respectively, highlight his impact.
The Knicks will need this version of Anunoby come playoff time.
“I think he’s really starting to grasp where he can be assertive within the offense and during the game,” Josh Hart remarked after a Sunday practice. “That’s something Mike [Brown] emphasizes; he never discourages us. He wants us to be bold, to take shots. There’s no holding back, and OG is beginning to understand ‘where can I be aggressive? Where can I find my moments to score?’ He’s efficient, physical, athletic, and he’s learning to capitalize on those qualities.”
Anunoby’s primary role in Brown’s offense is to stay in the corners and wait for drive-and-kick 3-pointers. At times, it can limit his contributions. And Brown has vocally set the hierarchy as Brunson first, Karl-Anthony Towns second, and everyone else after that.
But having four strong scoring threats in Brunson, Towns, Anunoby and Mikal Bridges is what is supposed to make the Knicks offense dynamic. Finding a balance between accepting his role as a catch-and-shooter and actively looking to drive and get to the rim is something Anunoby and the Knicks are still, this late into the year, working on.
“When OG is aggressive, he’s hard to deal with,” Landry Shamet said Sunday. “The beauty of our team is that we have so many different options. Sometimes the ball’s just finding you. There’s a certain rhythm about things. Right now, OG is the recipient of a lot of that. When he’s in that situation and when it’s finding him, he’s being really aggressive, really decisive. He’s hard to contain when he puts his head down and drives.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo confirmed, as part of his larger comments going at Bucks management, to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Milwaukee and the Knicks engaged in talks before the season.
The Post’s Stefan Bondy reported before the season that the two teams talked about an Antetokounmpo trade, but that discussions did not go far because the Knicks believed the Bucks lacked motivation to make a deal.
The Knicks have a clean injury report for Monday’s game against the Hawks in Atlanta. Towns, after missing Friday’s game due to a right elbow impingement, is not listed.
So unless something changes, he should be good to go.