NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 18: OG Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks dunks the ball during the … [+]
While the New York Knicks have still not gotten full value out of Mikal Bridges, who they traded for over the summer, the same cannot be said of the acquisition they made almost a year ago, when they traded for OG Anunoby in Toronto.
The 6’7 wing has been one the best perimeter defenders in the NBA for quite some time now, so his defensive impact was never in question. He was always expected to be a major influence on that end of the court.
His offensive explosion, however, was not expected. At least not to this extent, in large part due to the aforementioned acquisition of Bridges, and later Karl-Anthony Towns.
17 games into the season, Anunoby is averaging a career-high 19.1 points per game, connecting on over 52% from the field, and over 42% from long range.
He leads the team in dunks (34), far above Towns (18) who’s next on the team.
Why are dunks important?
They help paint a picture of how Anunoby gets his points. Of his 121 total made shots on the year, 77 have been either three’s or dunks, and that’s not even counting layups.
Only 4.8% of his shots are long two-pointers, from beyond 16 feet. He’s cut out the fat in his shot diet, and has optimized his own scoring profile.
As a result, Anunoby is now playing some of the best two-way basketball in the world, and he’s clearly catapulted himself into the All-Star conversation.
Now, granted, this is the play the Knicks needed from him given that he re-signed with them this summer to a deal worth $212.5 million over five years.
New York knew it had to commit to Anunoby after sending over both RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley for him, and so far it seems to be working out for them, at least through the perspective of Anunoby.
The Knicks have a net rating of +8.77 when Anunoby is on the floor, including an offensive rating of 125.3, which has greatly assisted the Knicks in carving out the league’s second-best offense on the year.
So, can the Knicks ride the wave of Anunoby, Towns, and Jalen Brunson to the Finals?
That remains to be seen.
If Bridges starts to play better – on both sides of the ball – then a Finals berth can’t be ruled out. But more so than that, it comes down to health.
Anunoby has never been a pillar of health, having cracked 70 games just once in his career, and that being his debut season, but so far he’s played in every game, and is looking spry.
At this stage, the Knicks couldn’t ask for more.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
