As the New York Knicks look to close out their series against the Indiana Pacers, the franchise got some good injury news with some bad injury news sprinkled in. According to Ian Begley of SNY Sports, OG Anunoby (hamstring) “has been ruled out for Game 6” of the Knicks-Pacers Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series but could come back for Game 7 if New York can’t close out the series on the road in game 6.
This comes after New York blew out the Pacers in Game 5 with Anunoby in street clothes. The Knicks have missed Anunoby since Game 2 of this series when the 3-and-D wing went out with a hamstring injury. Indiana took advantage of the Anunoby-less New York by winning Games 3 and 4 in front of their home crowd.
The Knicks are also missing Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, and Bojan Bogdanović but these possible starters will likely not return for the rest of the playoffs even if the franchise can make the Eastern Conference Finals. As New York runs short on depth, can the squad win on the road without Anunoby?
Honestly, the New York Knicks still have a good shot at beating the Pacers on the road without Anunoby in the lineup. The squad will likely need Alec Burks (18 points on 54 percent shooting in Game 5) and Miles McBride to pick up where they left off, but all of this is extremely reasonable to ask for.
While the rotation is probably not as fatigued as they looked in Game 4, they will need to defend 48 minutes of fast-paced Indiana Pacers ball. Despite Tyrese Haliburton sometimes not being able to play up to his All-NBA level, Indiana has a good chance to win this series with their flash-like pace forcing New York to run out of gas.
With New York possibly getting Anunoby for Game 7 and the possibly final game of the series being at home, the Knicks are in a great position to win the series. If the Knicks lose Game 6, the franchise will certainly appreciate the good news part of this story.
