OG Anunoby’s return to Knicks lifts weight off Josh Hart

Josh Hart was asked what, for some, might be a delicate question. With OG Anunoby back after missing the last 18 games, would he be OK with being pulled from the starting lineup? Would he mind  seeing his streak of nine straight 40-minutes or more workload come to an end?

Hart screeched as he ran out of the locker room for his pregame workout, smiling and hitting high notes that could have shattered windows. “Yeah boy, I ain’t expecting a 40 today. So we going to see Anabudoby,” he shouted, using his mocking pronunciation of Anunoby’s name. “Ain’t letting him get out of the game.”

“I’m good with it,” Hart said of being removed from the starting lineup. “I’m good with it, man. Really, I’m at the point where I really don’t care. I just want to win. Whether I play 40 or I play 25, I’m good.”

Hart remained in the starting lineup for now with Precious Achiuwa heading to the bench to make room for the return of Anunoby. It wasn’t just Hart who was celebrating a reduced burden on his shoulders. The Knicks have been playing drastically shorthanded with Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson out for an extended period. Anunoby is the first piece back, returning Tuesday night after 18 straight games on the sideline.

His arrival in a Dec. 30 trade from Toronto, gave the Knicks hope that he was the missing piece to lift them to a different level. The Knicks were 12-2 in the 14 games Anunoby played before he was scratched Jan. 29 while warming up. And on Feb. 8 he underwent a surgical procedure to remove loose bone fragments from his right elbow.

The Knicks were 29-17 at the time he was sidelined and went 8-10 without him.

“Anabudoby, he back,” Hart said. “Our savior is back. It’ll be good on both sides of the court. Someone who spaces the court with his shooting. Obviously, defensively he’s a juggernaut. Someone that is definitely going to help us on both sides of the ball.”

“A long wing, versatile,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of what Anunoby brings to the team. “Defense, shooting. Just all-around play. Movement without the ball

“It’s sort of, in some ways it’s similar to an in-season trade. You’re without a player. He’s out an extended amount of time. There will be an adjustment period not only for him but his teammates as well. Everyone’s role will slightly change. The challenge is for everyone to continue to be who you are; play to your strengths, cover up your weaknesses. Don’t do anything foolish to hurt the team.”

The Knicks still await Randle, who has been doing everything except contact work in practice as he makes his way back from a dislocated right shoulder. Thibodeau said earlier this week that Randle and Robinson could travel with the team as they head out on a four-game West Coast trip starting Thursday in Portland. Thibodeau wouldn’t put a timetable on when Randle could take the next steps and be cleared to play.

“Just hasn’t had the contact yet,” Thibodeau said. “The conditioning is good. He’s shooting, doing individual work. That’s all good. He can do five-on-zero [workouts]; that sort of thing. Light contact with the pads. That contact is what you would term controlled. So you know what the move is so you can brace yourself for it. So there’s a progression to what you have to go through.

“[The next progression is] him feeling better. You’ve got to continue to strengthen the shoulder and go from there. It’s the medical team and him. Just keep working at it. Do all you can. Rehab are your games right now. And that’s what he’s doing.”

Eventually, when Randle returns Hart will likely go back to his do-it-all sixth man role. But that hasn’t come yet. In 24 games as a starter this season entering Tuesday Hart was averaging 12.3 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He also had three triple-doubles.

“The thing is, that’s what you find out when you do have players out,” Thibodeau said. “Who can play with whom? What’s effective? How do they function together? Can they execute the things you’re asking them to execute? And then developing an understanding of what everyone’s strengths are. And to have the ability to do it in a game. It ‘s how the group works together, it’s not just an individual playing.”

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.