What Anunoby has changed for Knicks 10 games after trade from Raptors

Checking up on exes? Who would dare do such a thing? Well, unless it’s your favourite team’s former players. That’s normal, right?

The Toronto Raptors travel to New York to face OG Anunoby and the Knicks on Saturday night, and with 10 games in the books with his new team, this feels like a good time to take a peek over the shoulder and see how Anunoby’s arrival has impacted the Knicks’ fortunes.

Selected 23rd overall by the Raptors in 2017, the 26-year-old has averaged 15 points, five rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and a block for the Knicks, but for those that followed Anunoby closely in Toronto, it’s well known that his numbers can be as understated as his post-game interviews.

Here’s a deeper dive into Anunoby’s time as a New York Knick:

AS ADVERTISED DEFENSIVELY

It didn’t take long for Anunoby to showcase exactly why New York pursued him for over a year.

Facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in his Knicks debut, Anunoby took turns defending Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns with equal aplomb.

Anunoby had already served up a prelude of what he’s capable of against Edwards in the Raptors’ season opener, limiting one of the league’s future faces to just five points on 1-of-10 shooting when matched up against him, per NBA tracking data. Putting up these kinds of defensive clinics against the best offensive talents has become the norm by way of his strength, excellent timing when using his length to disrupt ball handling, and long strides that boost his lateral quickness. Throw in his great screen navigation and he becomes a nightmare to go up against.

Edwards is as athletic as they come but Anunoby stuck to him like a moth to a flame and was certainly the stronger of the two when push met shove. In games since, Anunoby has spent time defending DeMar DeRozan, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid in a pinch, and Kyrie Irving. In other words, par for the course for the man who accepts any defensive challenge thrown his way and usually comes out on top.

When Anunoby is on the floor, the team has an obscenely good net rating of plus-42.0, courtesy of a defensive rating that allows an absurd 31.5 points fewer per 100 possessions. The Knicks were 19th in defensive rating (116.7) prior to the trade and what may have accelerated the deal is the fact that New York finished the month of December a league-worst 30th in defensive rating (124.5). Since the trade, the team’s defensive rating (104.6) ranks second only to Cleveland and that has boosted the defensive rating on the season to 10th overall (113.9). Specifically in the halfcourt, New York has vaulted from 21st in points allowed per 100 halfcourt possessions to second, per Cleaning the Glass.

The only question mark that remains on this end of the floor is how much better the Knicks would have looked if defensive stalwart Mitchell Robinson was healthy. Isaiah Hartenstein has stepped into the starting centre role admirably since Robinson was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season due to an ankle injury, but outside of being a monster rebounder, his impact is felt more so on the offensive end. If Robinson was behind Anunoby to protect the rim, Anunoby could afford to ramp up his already aggressive defensive nature even more.

What may start to be a long-term concern for Knicks fans is the minutes burden Anunoby is being made to carry by head coach Tom Thibodeau – a man notorious for not showing any regard for managing player health. Anunoby has played 43, 43, and 44 minutes in each of his last three games, two of them most recently on a back-to-back set this past Wednesday and Thursday.

Thibodeau joked about Anunoby’s readiness to handle it, saying he knew the 26-year-old could do it having played for the Raptors under Nick Nurse.

OFFENSIVE GLOVE

Seattle Supersonics legend Gary Payton may have earned the nickname ‘The Glove’ for his exploits on the defensive end, but it’s Anunoby’s offensive fit in New York that leaves one thinking there are few better words to describe the way he’s meshed with the likes of Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle thus far.

New York ranked ninth in offensive rating (118.8) through December and has maintained that efficiency at 118.9 since the trade. The team’s ranking has dropped with teams like Utah and Toronto making drastic improvements on that end in the new year.

On this end of the floor, it’s been more about how the offence has changed rather than a tangible change in stats. In an offensive system that prioritized having the ball in the hands of its two best players and ranked 19th in passes per game, Barrett proved an awkward fit. He still had the expectations of a third overall pick and had to find a way to validate it, perhaps forcing the issue as a result. Not being able to space the floor to the extent the team needed didn’t help either. Things have gone quite differently in a very different offensive scheme in Toronto predicated on ball and player movement.

Anunoby doesn’t need the ball in his hands. He’s happy to feed off corner threes and cuts to the basket – at least on a winning team – and he’s done just that in New York. Averaging 15 points per game as a Knick, 84 percent of Anunoby’s shots have been either within three feet of the basket or three-point attempts, per Basketball Reference. He’s shooting 74.4 percent inside three feet and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc, exactly the type of efficiency and shot diet that complements Brunson and Randle’s bully ball style.

The Knicks are missing Barrett and Quickley’s individual creativity to an extent, but the defensive gains have been well worth it while accepting there needs to be another move on the table.

KNICKS NEW TIER? TBD

On Dec. 30, 2023, the Knicks were 17-15 which was good for eighth in the Eastern Conference. As of games played through Jan. 18, New York has won eight of 10 with Anunoby in the lineup to improve to 25-17. The ball club sits fifth in the Eastern Conference and firmly in the mix for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

These numbers, along with the defensive numbers alluded to earlier, suggest the Knicks have entered a different tier. While Anunoby has certainly helped the Knicks improve and equip the team with as good a defensive option on the wing as any team in the league could hope for along with a seamless, low-usage, and highly efficient offensive fit, this team still has more to prove.

Peeling back the layers of an 8-2 record post-trade, six of the eight wins have come against sub-.500 teams including the Washington Wizards twice (7-33), the Portland Trail Blazers (11-29), and the extremely shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies (15-25).

There have been two signature wins, in Anunoby’s first game as a Knick over the West’s top team in the Minnesota Timberwolves and against a Philadelphia 76ers team with Joel Embiid in the lineup – albeit appearing a little leggy after returning from a knee injury. The two losses came against a Dallas Mavericks squad missing Luka Doncic and an Orlando Magic team not only missing Franz Wagner but one that has also cooled off with just six wins in its last 17 games after opening the season 16-7.

Beyond the record, it should be noted that while the Knicks have elevated to fifth in the standings, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain ahead in fourth while the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers are right on its heels. Not to forget, Indiana has just made a major upgrade to its roster with the addition of Pascal Siakam and has missed all-star Tyrese Haliburton for nearly two weeks now with a hamstring injury.

Miami is arguably the most dangerous of those teams as reigning Eastern Conference champions and Jimmy Butler being the best player on any of these rosters for a playoff series. New York will feel confident about handling the Cavs after the routine manner in which that first-round series played out last year but Robinson was a huge factor last time around. Indiana presents an intriguing wildcard prospect.

To genuinely enter the C-suite that the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Sixers currently occupy, the Knicks need one more big swing. The Anunoby acquisition means that’s one swing less than what was needed three weeks ago.

INTERVIEW GAME STRONG

Anunoby’s quirky personality was a big reason Raptors fans became enamoured with him, and he has carried that same stoic, awkward nature in interviews thus far. How about this succinct game summary from Anunoby after a loss to the Orlando Magic:

When asked about hearing “OG” chants at Madison Square Garden, Anunoby simply answered, “It was really cool, it was really cool.”