It’s been a little over a week since the Knicks gave up RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto for OG Anunoby. I’ll admit that at first, I didn’t see this trade moving the needle for New York at first, but it’s only taken three games for my mind to be changed.
I mean, the guy was practically born to play for Tom Thibodeau. The guy just puts his head down and plays entire games incredibly hard without saying a word.
In impressive wins against Minnesota, Chicago, and especially in last night’s demolition of Philadelphia, Anunoby has brought an edge and a physicality that the Knicks didn’t have before.
Over the course of these three games, Knicks’ opponents have gone out of their way to avoid the Anunoby matchup, completely disrupting their normal offensive flow.
I still can’t get over this possession from Wednesday’s Chicago game:
Look how hard the Bulls work to get Anunoby off DeRozan with the pick off the handoff. Anunoby just glides through the pick, rendering it useless. He then deflects DeRozan’s attempted entry pass and closes out DeRozan’s shot fake without falling for it. DeMar then passes to the screener (Patrick Williams), who looks like he’s about to get an open mid-range shot before OG comes off DeRozan to close him down too, forcing the shot short.
It may not show up on the box score, but these sorts of efforts are exactly why the Knicks gave up two key assets to get him.
Sure, you’re losing a little bit offensively by losing Quickley and Barrett, but Anunoby is likely just as effective on the defensive end as those two combined. His career defensive rating is four points better than both RJ and Quickley.
Plus, you’re not having to worry about ball-needy players like Barrett and Quickley taking (and missing) shots away from guys who should be shooting like Brunson and Randle. These last few games have also proven that Miles McBride and Quentin Grimes could do with some more opportunity on the offensive end.
Everything opens up for New York on both ends as a result of this trade. Anunoby can defend any position on the floor AND doesn’t need to have the ball a lot on the offensive end. If he can bump his three-point percentage a little closer to the hallmark 40% point, he would become a massive two-way threat, the kind of which very few teams in the league have.
I’m currently working out a third-of-the-way power rankings, and it’s safe to say Anunoby’s addition has changed my thinking on the Knicks as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. They now have serious length and athleticism on the defensive end that they didn’t have before.
I know it’s a small sample size, but the Knicks have been incredibly impressive this week, especially considering that Minnesota and Philadelphia will consider themselves as finals contenders.
Don’t get me wrong – There are still some issues to overcome. Brunson as a perimeter defender can be a liability at times, and do you really want Julius Randle taking upwards of 20 shots per game while shooting 47% from the field and 28% from three?
There are still some holes that can become serious issues in a playoff series, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the Knicks’ trade for OG Anunoby takes them up a notch in the east.
Follow Nick Hedges on X (@nicktrimshedges) or Instagram (@nicktrimshedges)
Comments
One response to “The OG Anunoby trade means more than you think”
[…] the “blow it up” process with last week’s trade of OG Anunoby to the Knicks, which I covered earlier. I would expect Pascal Siakam to be next out the door, fully handing the keys over to Scottie […]