WingStop Grand Re-Opening

Asked about OG's aggressiveness on the offensive end, Josh Hart replied: "Earlier in the season, he would kick it out. And then he realized he was a 6'8", 245-pound demon."

Final Score: Knicks 110 - Blazers 93
Record: 47-27

With The Captain watching from the sidelines, the Knicks have needed the other stars on the roster to step up. And the vaunted WingStop duo has delivered.

New York got off to a slow start Sunday night vs. the Blazers but bounced back in the second quarter, only to watch Portland catch fire in the third and build a 14-point lead. That's when OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges took over, dominating the game on both ends of the floor. Remarkably, the Knicks outscored the Blazers by 31 points (56-25) over the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Bridges finished the contest with 28 points (12-of-22 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), two rebounds, seven assists, one block and two three-pointers. Mikal continues to destroy opponents with his baby fadeaways and has been facilitating an egalitarian offense by distributing the ball.

Over New York's past three contests, Bridges is shooting 71.4% on mid-range jumpers while averaging 7.0 assists. If you extend the sample size to six games, the Mid-Range Menace is at "only" 63%.

The Knicks are now 13-1 when Bridges scores more than 25 points.

Mikal's tag-team partner has somehow been even more effective and efficient. OG Anunoby racked up 28 points (11-of-16 FGs, 4-of-4 FTs), seven rebounds, two assists, three steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in 37 minutes last night.

Over his past four appearances, OG is averaging 30.5 points, 4.8 boards, 2.3 steals and 2.8 made three-pointers while shooting a blistering 59% from the floor, 42.3% from downtown and 100% (19-of-19) from the free-throw stripe. Think about that for a second.

Bernard King, during his remarkable 1985 campaign, is the only other player in Knicks franchise history to average 30+ PPG and shoot at least 59% from the floor over a four-game stretch.

Incredibly, according to Basketball Reference data, which dates back to the start of the 1984-85 season, OG is the first and only player to average 30 points per game while shooting above 55% from the field, above 40% from behind the arc and perfectly from the charity stripe (minimum five 3PT attempts and five FT attempts) over a four-game stretch.

Not only is he playing the best basketball of his career, but this has been a genuinely historic run for Anunoby. And we haven't even mentioned his dominance on the defensive end.

A key to OG and Bridges' recent uptick in production has been their willingness and ability to take the ball to the basket. Before Brunson's injury, both wings would often camp in the corner, stretch the floor, and take open three-pointers. With JB sidelined, the middle of the court opened up, and both players took advantage of an increased usage rate by attacking the tin.

Over the first 62 games of the season, Anunoby and Bridges averaged 5.1 and 5.2 drives per game, respectively.

In the 12 games since Brunson went down, Mikal is averaging 11.5 drives per game, and OG is up to 8.3. Both players are also averaging over 10 points per game in the paint.

Last night, when asked about OG's aggressiveness on the offensive end, Josh Hart replied: "Earlier in the season, he would kick it out. And then he realized he was a 6'8", 245-pound demon."

After Brunson returns, the Knicks' coaching staff will need to incorporate some of the successful sets/actions that have unlocked Bridges and OG into the offensive game plan. That will involve playing JB off the ball occasionally and staggering the starter's minutes a bit more.

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 Josh Hart flirted with a triple-double once again Sunday night, tallying 14 points (5-of-10 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), eight rebounds, nine assists, three steals and one three-pointer in 38 minutes.

His all-around numbers this season are incredible. Hart is currently averaging 9.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 three-pointers per game. The only players to match or exceed those averages in those categories over an entire season are Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook.

🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns had another off-night, finishing with 10 points (4-of-13 FGs), 11 boards, two assists and two blocks. The good news is that New York has found ways to win their last two games despite KAT shooting a combined 10-of-29 from the floor with just three total assists, but they will obviously need his A-game to make a run this postseason.

🏀 Delon Wright drew another start at PG and ended his evening with seven points (3-of-6 shooting), two assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes.

The most surprising number for me is 35 minutes. Tyler Kolek was on the floor for less than 14 minutes.

We thought Kolek would see plenty of PT when Brunson got injured, but Thibs relied solely on Deuce and Payne. Then, when Deuce went down, Kolek was forced into action and more than held his own. Thus, I assumed Kolek would be promoted to the starting lineup after Payne twisted his ankle. However, shockingly, he's actually seen his minutes decrease in the two games since.

If the kid can't earn more than 14 MPG while New York is missing their top three point guards in the season's final two weeks, we have no choice but to deduce that head coach Tom Thibodeau does not trust Kolek.

Could the rookie be THAT bad or unprepared in practice? Thibs has stated that the metric he trusts most is Net Rating.

"To me, the most important thing is net rating," Thibs told reporters in early December. "How many do you score, and how many do you give up?"

Well, here are the Net Ratings for each of the ten rotation players over NY's past seven games:
1. Tyler Kolek: +12.5
2. Mikal Bridges: +8.5
3. Cam Payne: +8.4
4. Karl-Anthony Towns: +3.7
5. Landry Shamet: +3.0
6. Josh Hart: +0.8
7. OG Anunoby: 0.0
8. Precious Achiuwa: -1.2
9. Mitchell Robinson: -3.1
10. Delon Wright: -8.7

Lastly, if Wright is capable of starting and averaging 33+ MPG, why was he glued to the bench after arriving in early February? He could have helped reduce the workload on Bridges, Hart and Brunson over the past two months. Or Wright could have subbed in for Landry Shamet on nights Landry couldn't buy a bucket, or NY needed more perimeter defense.

🏀 Encouragingly, New York is 7-5 in the 12 games Brunson has missed. However, six of those wins have come against tanking teams with losing records. The Milwaukee game was the one win vs. a team with a record above .500 (and the Bucks are 2-6 since losing Dame Lillard).

🏀 Last night, Brunson spoke with the media for the first time since injuring his ankle and indicated he hopes to return before the end of the regular season.

"Realistically, I'm hoping to play before the playoffs," Brunson said. "I think it's good for me to get some game reps before we go into that type of stretch run. Most importantly, I want to make sure I'm 100 percent healthy."

"I'm doing rehab stuff," Brunson added. "More days as of recently, I've been cranking up two-a-days if I have to. Whatever I can do to improve myself is what I'm doing. Obviously, I want to feel 100 percent. A lot of this is also mental, making sure I can trust everything I do (on the court)."

🏀 Thibs said Sunday that Miles McBride, who has missed five straight games with a groin contusion/strain, is "close" to returning and considered "day-to-day."

🏀 PJ Tucker's second ten-day contract expired on Saturday, and he was not with the club for Sunday's victory. After inking two 10-day deals, Tucker is only eligible to sign a standard contract.

According to Stef Bondy of the New York Post, Tucker "is a strong candidate to re-sign at a later date."

Bondy also reported Sunday that "after hoping for a call-up from the G-League that didn't come, T.J. Warren left the Westchester Knicks earlier this month."

The Knicks can sign another player to a ten-day contract for the season's final eight games.

🏀 Next Up:
Knicks vs. Sixers (7:30 pm tip)

Philly, losers of eight straight, have entered supreme tank mode, desperately hoping to land a top-six pick in the 2025 draft. (If their selection is #7 or higher, it gets transferred to OKC.)

The Sixers only had nine available bodies in their most recent loss, a blowout defeat to Toronto last night. Their starting five were Lonnie Walker IV, Ricky Council IV, Justin Edwards, Jared Butler and Adem Bona. Four players logged double-digit minutes off the bench: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Marcus Bagley, Alex Reese, and Phillip Wheeler.

Yikes. I cover the NBA for a living, and I wouldn't know a few of those dudes if they sat next to me on the subway.

Tuesday would be an ideal game for New York to rest some of their starters and let the rookies get some run... but don't hold your breath.