Any morsel of progress surrounding the Knicks’ bevy of injured players is newsworthy, but the word on OG Anunoby out of practice Thursday signals he likely is the closest to returning of the team’s sidelined starting frontcourt.
Anunoby, who hasn’t played since late January due to an elbow injury that required cleanup surgery, was cleared for contact and has resumed scrimmaging with the Knicks.
“Yeah, he’s doing some five-on-five work. He’s doing well overall,” coach Tom Thibodeau revealed after practice in Tarrytown. “It’s day-to-day, and we’ll see where he is. He’s making good progress, but he’s got to be cleared first to fully play [in games].
The Knicks had won 12 of the 14 games the two-way forward had appeared in after he was acquired from the Raptors on Dec.30.
But Thibodeau’s team has gone 7-9 since Anunoby and three-time All-Star Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder) were injured in the same game Jan. 27 against the Heat, joining starting center Mitchell Robinson (December ankle surgery) on the injured list.
The Knicks have dropped eight of their past 11 entering Friday’s home game against the Magic.
All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson remains questionable after missing all but 47 seconds of action in the past two games with a left knee contusion.
Randle and Robinson also are progressing with the hope of returning during the regular season.
Randle has been taking light contact in recent days, and Robinson is cleared to resume running and jumping.
“They all put in a lot of work. They’re really tackling their rehab aggressively and seriously,” Josh Hart said. “So you see it, you see the progression, so obviously that’s encouraging. And hopefully, we’ll get those guys back soon.
“I’ll just be excited to have our team back. I don’t think we’ve had our whole team — I mean, technically if you add Mitch in there, we haven’t had our whole team one game this season in terms of what we have now or what we’ll end the season with. I’m just excited to get those guys back hopefully with time to really jell and get accustomed to each other’s games and everything so we can finish the season off right and go into the playoffs feeling good.”
Hart estimated that the Knicks “ideally” would need around eight to 10 games of their 20 remaining to establish roles at full strength once they return.
Of course, Hart has been one of several usual second-unit players logging heavy minutes in the absence of the starting frontline. His playing time has risen from an average of 28.2 minutes in 45 games before Anunoby and Randle were injured to 40.6 over his past 16 appearances.
“As a competitor you want to play all the time. I’m not sure what I was averaging minutes-wise before guys went down — a safe 28-30 [minutes],” Hart said. “I wanted to play more, and now obviously I’m playing a lot.
“But I know when guys come back, I’ll get back to the 30-32 range, I can be more energetic. [I won’t have to] save myself. I can fly around more, be more aggressive defensively, more aggressive offensively and get back to playing my game, kind of how I want to play it.”
Veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who was acquired with Alec Burks from the Pistons at the Feb. 8 trade deadline, said he’s hoping to get accustomed to playing with some or all of Anunoby, Randle and Robinson before the playoffs begin in April.
“It’s big for us. Right now, we’re down four starters, so it’s hard to play that way,” Bogdanovic said. “It’s great to see those guys getting back healthy and getting back in shape, as well.
“They’re trying to help us and help each other on the court. … It’s gonna take probably a couple games for us and a couple games for them to get back into game shape, but I think we’ll be fine.”