SAN FRANCISCO — OG Anunoby’s surgically repaired elbow “flared up” and he flew back to New York, scratching the forward from Monday’s game against the Warriors and likely the following contest Thursday in Denver, Tom Thibodeau said.
The test showed inflammation but no new injury, the Knicks said.
There’s no return date for Anunoby, who underwent surgery in February to remove loose bone from his elbow, and Thibodeau didn’t want to answer whether he was brought back too soon.
“You can’t work backwards,” Thibodeau said. “There’s many steps he had to go through. He met all the markers. He was cleared. This is a possibility. Whenever you come back from surgery, this is what you’re looking at. And so, we feel good about where he is. And just give him the time he needs.”
The messaging from Thibodeau, Anunoby and the Knicks was a lot different the previous few days. They had claimed “soreness” was anticipated, dismissing the idea that he’d be sitting out games.
On Saturday, Anunoby even said he was “ready” to defend Steph Curry.
Then after being listed as questionable on Sunday night, Anunoby flew home and was downgraded to “out” by Monday morning.
“When you talked to him after the game, he felt good. The next day he didn’t feel as good,” Thibodeau said. “So we wanted to make sure everything was fine. We sent him back, got his MRI. Came back clean. And now let it calm down. And then go from there.”
Anunoby played three games after returning but aggravated the area last week during a victory over the Blazers.
His presence was a major boost to the defense of the Knicks, who are 15-2 with him in the lineup. But he shot 1-for-8 in Saturday’s win over the Kings and looked uncomfortable with his release since the pain resurfaced in Portland.
According to people familiar with his tenure in Toronto — where Anunoby missed lots of time with injuries — the 26-year-old isn’t comfortable playing through pain.
He’s also a free agent after the season and in line for a massive contract, which the Knicks will be eager to pay since they traded two young promising pieces — RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley — to acquire him from the Raptors.
Following the Nuggets game Thursday, the Knicks are home for four straight very winnable games against the Nets, Pistons, Spurs and Raptors. Then the schedule gets a lot tougher to end the season.
And it’s unclear when Anunoby’s inflammation will calm down.
After Anunoby visibly exhibited pain in last week’s game in Portland, an expert doctor — who hadn’t treated the Knicks forward — cautioned that inflammation should require “an extended period of rest.
“I would be concerned if his elbow was swollen, which it may be. I would be concerned if he didn’t have full range of motion in his elbow,” Dr. Andrew S. Rokito, chief of the division of shoulder and elbow surgery at NYU Langone Orthopedics, said. “And I would be concerned about how much pain he’s in. All of those things would factor into my level of concern. And if all those boxes would check off, it would necessitate a more extended period of rest.”