Knicks’ OG Anunoby could make his return Friday

The New York Knicks could get their best perimeter defender back on Friday. OG Anunoby, who has missed the past three weeks with a hamstring strain, was upgraded to questionable on Thursday’s injury report.

Knicks’ OG Anunoby upgraded to questionable versus Jazz

The Knicks are scheduled to play the Utah Jazz at home on Friday night. If he is deemed available to play, it would be his first game since November 14, when he suffered the strain in the first few minutes of their game against the Miami Heat.

Anunoby has progressed well in his rehab, as he was doing controlled contact and three-on-three scrimmages as early as last week. Earlier this week, he had progressed to taking full contact in practice.

The Knicks have stayed afloat in his absence, as they are 6-3 in the games he hasn’t played in. Miles McBride and Josh Hart have entered the starting five since Anunoby and Landry Shamet went down with injuries and have done a solid job at carrying the load.

The Knicks will be getting a key piece back in the lineup

Anunoby’s return would mean that one of McBride or Hart will have to return to the bench, despite them both playing very well. They already moved Mitchell Robinson back to the bench, a decision that could become permanent moving forward.

Anunoby is in the midst of a first-team all-defense level campaign. He is averaging 1.9 steals and 0.7 blocks per game this season while being an elite on-ball defender, and he is also averaging 15.8 points on 39.2% shooting from three-point range on the offensive end.

The Knicks will certainly take a cautious approach with Anunoby, as he is one of their most important pieces to what they are trying to accomplish. Nevertheless, they can feel good about getting him back on the court in a relatively short amount of time following his injury.