Milwaukee – Without Jalen Brunson, the Knicks needed their secondary scorers to raise. Og Anunoby certainly answered the call.
And he begins to present a new offensive element that could unlock a significant part of his game.
During the 11 games since Brunson fell with an ankle injury, in which the Knicks went 6-5 to stay afloat at the head No. 3 in the East, Anunoby has an average of 22.4 points per match – against his 17.5 -point season.
He paid a summit of 31 points in the 116-107 victory against the Bucks on Friday evening at the Fiserv Forum.
A huge 20 of them came to the fourth quarter, helping the Knicks to prevent a late race from Bucks.
“Super aggressive,” said head coach Tom Thibodeau about Anunoby. “And I think it does it in many different ways, which I like. I think that global aggressiveness – 10 free throws, 10 3s, attacking the rim but not hesitating at his 3 years. aggressive.”
This aggressiveness represents a new wrinkle that the Knicks had not seen much before.
With Brunson, Anunoby worked more in a role of capture and shooting from the 3 -point range or as a ballooner when the defenses concentrated on Brunson. But without Brunson, Anunoby has become a much more aggressive conduct at the edge as a Slasher.
During these 11 games without Brunson, 51.1% of Anunoby’s shots came less than 10 feet from the basket. This is a significant increase compared to its 44.8% seasonal bar.
And only 30.1% of his attempts at the field were attempts to capture and shots, against 38.4% for the season.
“Og just takes his game at another level and is aggressive and confident in what he does,” said Karl-Anthony Towns. “When he plays like that, he is another OG Anunoby. We already know what he can do defensive. Just because of the circumstances, OG, we asked him to do more for our team, he was able to present more of his talent and he did it.”
Naturally, attacking the more edge has enabled Anunoby to go more to the free throw line. He tried 10 free throws in Friday’s victory and did them all.
And during the 11 games without Brunson, he had an average of 5.1 attempts at free throws per match – at the top of his brand 2.9 season.
“I try to play in the right direction and read the game,” said Anunoby. “And also just try to get worsened, put the team in the bonus, create faults, be aggressive at any time.”
Part of what helped him reach the line, because he flows the edge more, was a decision he learned from Demar derozan when the two were teammates on raptors.
Anunoby used a low dribbling while driving, moving the defenders’ ball away while looking for their outstretched arms to create contact and shoot faults.
What is the key to this decision?
“I just watched a movie, watching other big players,” said Anunoby. “I played with a guy, Demar, who does it a lot. The big players do it and are doing fault.
“Just be aggressive. Go forcefully, don’t be soft with it.”
Brunson’s return will naturally mean fewer opportunities for Anunoby as a driver. But that does not mean that it must disappear, and perhaps the offensive of the Knicks becomes a little more balanced.
“I just attacked, an aggressive descent. I think he must continue to do so,” said Thibodeau. “When we are active on the defensive, we can enter the open ground, it is generally where he excels.”
