Latest news with #Anunoby
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OG Anunoby sends 6-word message to Knicks after failed title bid
The post OG Anunoby sends 6-word message to Knicks after failed title bid appeared first on ClutchPoints. Despite going through postseason heartbreak, OG Anunoby continues to be proud of representing the New York Knicks. Advertisement Anunoby is fresh off of helping the Knicks make a deep postseason run. They won the first two rounds, beating the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics in six games each. As a result, they made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, which presented an opportunity for them to reach their first NBA Finals since 1999. Unfortunately, they came up short. They fell to the Indiana Pacers in six games as they will have to wait another year to regroup and continue their pursuit of making the NBA Finals. Days after the season-ending loss in Game 6, Anunoby made a social media post on Instagram. It featured a photo collage, as the forward sent New York fans a message that is grateful for their support. 'Year 8 ✔️ thank you NY🔷🔶,' Anunoby wrote in the post. What lies ahead for OG Anunoby, Knicks Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images OG Anunoby has been with the Knicks for less than two seasons, but it's clear his impact has benefitted the team for the better. Advertisement New York may not have gone deeper into the postseason if Anunoby wasn't in the picture. It is possible that if he was healthy, the team may have reached the East Finals in 2023 instead of losing to the Pacers in seven games. Although this year ended with another series loss to the Pacers, Anunoby proved he will remain important in New York's plans moving forward. This season saw him average 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game after 74 appearances. In the playoffs, he produced 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, two steals, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks per contest after 18 matchups. The Knicks had their most successful season since 2000, and Anunoby played a major role in that. The team will now look forward to retooling in the offseason as the championship aspirations grow over time.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Knicks answer key questions following deep playoff run will impact fantasy values next season
The NBA playoffs are where stars rise and weaknesses get exposed. For every team sent packing, we'll analyze the standout players primed for growth and a major question mark that could impact the team's fantasy value ahead of the 2025-26 season. Up next, the New York Knicks. The Knicks' playoff journey wrapped up Saturday night as the Indiana Pacers finished them off in six games. Now, New York heads into the offseason with a lot to think about. This was the best team Knicks fans have seen in 25 years. And despite a successful regular season that saw all five starters finish within the top 100 in fantasy basketball 9-cat rankings, the playoffs reinforced a glaring weakness: depth. Advertisement With most of their bench contributors struggling to offer meaningful support due to Tom Thibodeau's commitment to running players into the ground, the heavy burden on the starters once again proved unsustainable. Yet, amid the disappointment, there's still plenty to be optimistic about heading into next season — starting with OG Anunoby. OG Anunoby bounces back in Year 2 with Knicks I was more into Mikal Bridges than Anunoby this year, but I've flipped my position. While Bridges is an ironman, Anuoby offers more cross-category production. Anunoby outperformed his ADP by four rounds, finishing inside the top 40 for the third time in his career. More importantly, he played over 70 games for the first time since his rookie year. While those numbers may not scream superstardom, the context matters. Anunoby's usage increased to nearly 20% this season, the second-highest of his career. Look at his usage growth over the final two months of the season and how the increased opportunity led to a higher scoring rate. Data from 2024-25 season. With the Knicks being overly reliant on Jalen Brunson, sending some of his usage to Anunoby could be beneficial in the long run. He's efficient, locks up on defense and should continue to be the third option on offense in the future. Anunoby turns 28 in July, so he's approaching his prime, and more volume only increases his fantasy value. He's a high-floor guy whom I'd target near the late fifth or early sixth round. Brunson & Karl-Anthony Towns make an elite combo Towns' reunion with Thibs resulted in another first-round fantasy finish. He's a walking double-double and one of the best shooters in the game for his size. He's a top-five option next season — though there are some questions if he'll back with the Knicks? Advertisement Of course, no Knicks fantasy breakdown is complete without mentioning the rock of their roster, Jalen Brunson. The NBA's Clutch Player of the Year was one of the most valuable point guards across formats. He carried a hefty 29.5% usage rate and maintained a high level of efficiency, shooting at a 49% clip and making over 82% of his free throws. He's the heart and soul of New York's offense, and his fantasy production matched that role exactly. He's locked in as a second-round pick moving forward, and there's little reason to expect a decline. Josh Hart, the unheralded fantasy MVP One of the most underrated players this season, though, was Josh Hart. Sporting a 10th-round ADP in preseason drafts, Hart smashed expectations, closing the season 26th overall in 9-cat leagues. Hart's ability to rebound like a big with the versatility of a guard on both ends made him an invaluable asset —both in real life and fantasy. Advertisement He ended the season with nine triple-doubles — a franchise record — and was a mainstay in Thib's tight rotation. Hart's ability to contribute across the board makes him a mid-round gem in category formats, and his versatility ensures he'll maintain strong value regardless of role changes next season. The question is, will he be overdrafted? What's good with the bench? Unless the Knicks decide to get bold and break up their Big Five, the biggest offseason question is how they'll reconfigure their bench. Outside of the top five, production plummeted. Depth remains their Achilles' heel, and for fantasy managers, it introduces volatility in assessing player workloads. If New York adds reliable scoring and playmaking to the second unit, it could ease the burden on stars like Brunson and Towns, preserving their health. Or maybe it's as simple as giving more reps to Deuce McBride, Mitchell Robinson and a slew of younger guys in the pipeline. As long as Thibs is the head coach of the Knicks, his starters will likely be among the league leaders in minutes played, which typically translates into more on-court production.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Pascal Siakam, Pacers knock out Knicks in Eastern Conference finals
Pascal Siakam recorded 31 points and three blocked shots and the Indiana Pacers are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 after notching a 125-108 victory over the visiting New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night at Indianapolis. Siakam was voted the Eastern Conference finals MVP. Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points, 13 assists and three steals for fourth-seeded Indiana. Obi Toppin added 18 points off the bench and Andrew Nembhard had 14 points and six steals for the Pacers. Indiana will face the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. Game 1 is Thursday at Oklahoma City, OG Anunoby scored 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 14 rebounds for third-seeded New York. Jalen Brunson had 19 points and seven assists and Mikal Bridges had 15 points for the Knicks. Indiana had a 25-10 edge on fastbreak points to finish the series with a dominating 106-48 in that category. The Pacers shot 54.1 percent from the field, including a solid 17 of 33 from 3-point range . Myles Turner and reserve Thomas Bryant had 11 points apiece and Aaron Nesmith added 10 for the Pacers. New York made 47.7 percent of its shots and was 9 of 32 from behind the arc. Landry Shamet had 12 points on four treys off the bench. New York trailed by 15 entering the final quarter but a basket by Towns and two in a row by Anunoby pulled the Knicks within 92-83 with 10:15 remaining. Haliburton then took over as he scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the final stanza. The Pacers pushed the lead back to 14 on a basket by Nembhard with 8:26 left. Later, a basket by Haliburton and a 3-pointer by Nembhard made it 113-94 with 4:22 left. Siakam later made two free throws to make it 120-99 with 1:52 left as New York waved the white flag. Indiana led by four at the break but started the third quarter with 3-pointers by Siakam and Nesmith and a three-point play by Siakam to take a 67-54 lead. The Knicks were within 69-61 after Brunson's basket with 8:53 left in the period before Bryant and Nembhard combined for three treys in 86 seconds as the Pacers grabbed a 78-63 advantage with 6:44 remaining in the quarter. Haliburton later ended the third with a dunk as the Pacers had a 34-23 edge over the 12 minutes to expand their lead to 92-77. Siakam scored 16 first-half points to help the Pacers hold a 58-54 lead at the break. Anunoby scored 14 in the half for New York. Field Level Media
Indianapolis Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Pacers Andrew Nembhard, Myles Turner struggling against Knicks' lineup change
NEW YORK — Andrew Nembhard was asked how the Eastern Conference Finals have changed for him personally since the Knicks switched their lineups and rotations in Game 3 to go bigger in the starting five and deeper into the bench than they've done in these playoffs and most of this season. 'I'm just gonna keep that to myself,' Nembhard said. It's more than understandable that he'd rather not discuss it because the changing of the matchups has clearly made his life significantly more difficult. In Games 1 and 2 in the series, Nembhard scored a combined 27 points (13.5 per game) on 11 of 18 shooting (61.1%) including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. In the last three games he has just 18 points total (6.0 per game) on 5 of 26 shooting (19.2%) including 1 of 6 from 3. The Knicks made changes to improve defensively. Though the Pacers scored a playoff-high 130 points in Game 4, they scored just 100 in Game 3 and 94 in Game 5, their two lowest figures in these playoffs. The big change was to put center Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup and move wing Josh Hart to the bench. Though Hart is one of the Knicks' three top wing defenders along with Mikal Bridges and O.G. Anunoby, they needed better rim protection to take away some of the Pacers' paint scoring opportunities and also a center more suited to switch on to ball-handlers on the pick and roll. Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the league's top scoring and rebounding centers but defense is not his strongest suit. He scores too much to move to the bench, but Robinson's presence covers more bases. That move led to shifts in other matchups. Anunoby, one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA, was primarily taking on Pacers All-Star power forward Pascal Siakam to start the series . The Knicks have instead used Robinson and Towns to guard him, trying to combat his skill and elusiveness with size. They could have used Jalen Brunson on Nembhard, but instead, they've put Brunson on Aaron Nesmith and Nembhard has been dealing with the 6-7 Anunoby at the start of games and often times the 6-4 Hart later. It puts Nesmith in a bit more advantageous matchup, but he's been battling through a sprained ankle and hasn't been as explosive. Meanwhile having Anunoby on Nembhard and Bridges on Tyrese Haliburton means the Knicks have ace defenders on the two players who most frequently initiate offense and that's made it difficult to get anything started. Nembhard has also seen his life get more difficult because the Knicks have been more willing to dig into their bench. Guards Landry Shamet and Delon Wright barely played in the playoffs before Game 3 of this series. Wright had just four minutes in the entire playoffs before that point. However, coach Tom Thibodeau has called on them to play double-figure minutes in each of the last three games. Nembhard has had to deal with both players as defenders which has meant guards with fresh legs when Anunoby has been off the floor. The defensive shift has been tough on Nembhard and it's been tough on Myles Turner as well as Turner has frequently had to deal with Mitchell Robinson directly. Turner only took three shots in Game 5. Two of them came when Robinson was off the floor and he was being defended by Towns. The first, an early 3-pointer, came when Robinson dipped deep down toward the paint to try to cut off a drive by Haliburton and Turner stayed back at the 3-point line and hit from 3. He finished 2 of 3 from the field for five points. Turner's shooting numbers weren't as dramatically different in Games 3 and 4 as compared to Games 1 and 2. He averaged 15.5 points per game in the first four games. He did struggle from the 3-point arc, however, he's now 5 of 19 from beyond the arc for the series and he's struggled on the glass, averaging just 3.4 rebounds per game and not grabbing more than five in any of the games. Nembhard and Turner are both critical to Haliburton's success as Nembhard is the secondary ball-handler who allows Haliburton to run around without the ball and Turner is his best ball screen partner. As the Pacers try to adjust and get past the Knicks into their first Finals since 2000 and the second in history, they'll be looking to get both more involved.
GMA Network
7 days ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
NBA: Jalen Brunson, Knicks earn trip back to Indiana for Game 6
May 29, 2025; Jalen Brunson controls the ball against Andrew Nembhard in the fourth quarter during game five of the Eastern Conference Finals. (Photo: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images/REUTERS) Jalen Brunson scored 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and the New York Knicks staved off elimination with a convincing 111-94 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night. Karl-Anthony Towns played through a left knee injury to record 24 points and 13 rebounds as the third-seeded Knicks led wire to wire while cutting their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Bennedict Mathurin registered 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the fourth-seeded Pacers. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, and reserve Obi Toppin added 11. Game 6 is Saturday night in Indianapolis. Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton was largely silent, finishing with eight points, on 2-of-7 shooting, and six assists. Two nights earlier, he had 30 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and zero turnovers in a stellar Game 4 effort. The Knicks shot 49.4 percent from the field in Game 5, including 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) from 3-point range. Josh Hart had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Mikal Bridges also scored 12 points, and OG Anunoby had 11 points. Indiana connected on 40.5 percent of its shots and was 10 of 30 from behind the arc while committing 19 turnovers. The Knicks led by 11 at halftime but pushed the edge to 72-52 on two free throws by Anunoby with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter. Indiana displayed life with a 12-2 run to move within 74-64 on two foul shots by Mathurin with 4:09 left in the period. Brunson had six points, including a four-point play, as New York answered with 12 straight points. Miles "Deuce" McBride hit a jumper to cap it and make it 86-64 with 2:12 remaining. The Pacers responded with a 9-2 burst before Bridges sank a 12-footer with 1.8 seconds left to give the Knicks a 90-73 advantage entering the final stanza. New York led by 20 in the fourth before Indiana scored nine of the next 10 points to creep within 96-84 with 8:15 remaining. However, Hart answered with consecutive baskets and Bridges hit a jumper to make it an 18-point margin with 5:41 remaining. Towns' driving basket made it 106-90 with 2:44 left, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle waved the white flag by removing Haliburton, Mathurin and Siakam from the contest. Towns had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half as New York led 56-45 at the break. Siakam had nine in the half for the Pacers. Indiana trailed by two early in the second quarter before New York rattled off 14 of the next 16 points to take a 48-34 with 5:07 left in the half. The 14-point edge was the Knicks' largest before intermission. --Field Level Media/Reuters
