OG Anunoby was ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Hornets, leaving the Knicks short-handed as they closed the regular season. The absence was announced Saturday night at 8:05 p.m. ET.
Anunoby was one of six players ruled out for New York, a list that pointed to a heavily rotated finish rather than a full-strength lineup. With so many absences, Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson were among the players expected to see more run.
That mattered because the final game of the regular season was less about fine-tuning a playoff group than managing who could take the floor at all. When a team closes with six players unavailable, the minutes shift quickly to the rest of the bench and to the players best positioned to absorb extra usage.
The wrinkle is that the absences do more than thin the rotation; they change who gets a chance to finish the season on the court. For Shamet and Clarkson, that meant a larger role against Charlotte than they might have had if Anunoby and the other sidelined Knicks had been available.
For New York, the immediate story was simple: no Anunoby on Sunday, and a thinner lineup to close out the regular season. What followed on the floor was going to reflect that reality from the opening tip.
