OG Anunoby
Anunoby is a full-time New York starter who plays heavy minutes and is slow out of the gate, with a possible small-ball center wrinkle that is still unproven.
Role
Starting forward in Mike Brown's lineup. In a Heavy.com piece from 2 days ago the usual starting five was Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Anunoby and Towns. ESPN's player page (indexed about 30 days ago, so possibly stale) showed him at 33.5 minutes over 6 games, with 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Rotowire logs show 31 to 36 minutes in recent games, including 31 against Chicago and 36 against Detroit. I found no report of a rest plan or back-to-back restriction in the regular season. The preseason rest night, reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, was preseason only. Competition for his minutes is thin. The open question is the backup center spot, where Wiseman has played about 10 minutes total, per an SI piece from 2 days ago.
He is the defensive and rebounding glue next to Brunson and Towns. He has put up 20 to 23 points in three of his first six games, and he nearly had a triple-double against Boston (20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists). Daily Knicks argues Brown should use him more at center because of the backup-big problem. That would raise his touches and rebounding, and an SI piece noted his most-used center unit worked defensively in a small sample.
His shooting has been poor so far: 40.0% from the field and 27.8% from three over 6 games, per ESPN's page. He opened the season at 3-of-12 from the field. The Knicks have been losing, and per the SI piece their first win came against Detroit. Daily Knicks notes the team does not want to overextend him before the playoffs, and center minutes add wear and cost him time beside Towns. Last season's line (about 40% from the field on 450 attempts, 60 threes) offers little cushion if the early slump continues.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is over whether Brown moves Anunoby to center for real minutes. Daily Knicks says the Knicks have no choice and should do it. Others, as reported, hesitate over the workload and the lost minutes beside Towns. So far it has been a few minutes per game at most. A second disagreement is whether the Knicks fix the backup-center spot with a trade. Daily Knicks says a trade is likely but that deals seldom start before December. Neither has been confirmed.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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