Anunoby is recovering well.
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby practiced fully for the second straight day on Saturday in Greenburgh, and what he told reporters afterward should go a long way toward calming some nerves around the franchise.
The 28-year-old strained his right hamstring late in Game 2 of the team's second-round sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers on May 6.
He sat out Games 3 and 4 while the Knicks closed things out without him.
"It didn't feel as bad as the past when it happened," Anunoby said. "So knowing that, just trying to improve it day by day."
A Familiar Problem
This is the same hamstring Anunoby hurt back in November, when he missed nine games before returning.
So any new tweak to that area was always going to set off alarms with the coaching staff and the fan base.
This time around, though, things seem to have broken the right way early on.
SNY's Ian Begley reported the strain was considered minor from the start, and head coach Mike Brown confirmed Friday that Anunoby did everything with the team during practice for the first time since going down.
Mikal Bridges wasn't sweating it either. "He's been back. He looks good to me," Bridges said. "I think maybe the crowd, maybe the fans and media worried a little bit more, but I know how OG works and how his body is. I think he'll be all right."
Why the Knicks Need Him Back
Anunoby was playing like the best player on the roster before the injury, and the numbers back that up pretty clearly.
He averaged 21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game through the first two rounds while shooting 61.9 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from three.
That's a real jump from the 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds he put up in the regular season, and he was locking down opposing wings every night too, doing the perimeter work that frees up guys like Jalen Brunson, who averaged 26.0 points per game this season, to operate on the other end.
The Knicks went 53-29 and locked in the third seed in the Eastern Conference, and they're 8-2 in the playoffs after sweeping Philadelphia.
They managed fine without Anunoby in Games 3 and 4, with Deuce McBride stepping up and dropping 25 in the closeout game.
Still, the Eastern Conference Finals are going to be a step up in competition no matter who comes out of the other side.
Looking Ahead to the ECF
The Cavaliers and Pistons are headed to a Game 7 on Sunday, and the Knicks will host Game 1 on Tuesday regardless of who wins.
Anunoby sounded like he's ready.
"I think everyone's excited for the games to start, so just letting the other series play out," Anunoby said. "So if it was tomorrow, it's going to be Tuesday now, just be ready whenever it is."
If he's fully healthy, the Knicks get their complete starting five back.
Given how he played in the first eight games of this postseason, that probably matters more than anything else right now.
