The Knicks look set to be at full strength to start the Eastern Conference finals.
OG Anunoby (hamstring) practiced in full again with the Knicks on Monday and is listed as probable for the opening game against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Though it is unclear whether the Knicks can sustain the momentum of their seven-game winning streak after a lengthy layoff, the team has already benefited from the rest and rehab of the roster’s most impactful two-way player.
Anunoby, who hasn’t played since getting injured in the final minutes of Game 2 of the second-round series against the 76ers, will be 13 days removed from his most recent game action when he steps on the court for Game 1 against Cleveland.
Two years ago, Anunoby’s hamstring injury during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals derailed the season — a 2-0 series lead for the Knicks turned into a seven-game defeat to the Pacers, with a hobbled Anunoby briefly returning for the series-ending loss — but the 28-year-old said this weekend that the current issue wasn’t as alarming.
OG Anunoby drives to the basket during the Knicks’ May 6 playoff game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“It wasn’t like the previous ones, for sure,” Anunoby said. “So, it was better than before. … I never think about the past. Just dealing with it in the moment. It didn’t feel as bad as it had in the past when it happened, so just knowing that, just trying to improve it day by day.”
Anunoby has arguably been the Knicks’ best all-around player in the postseason, averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and a team-best 1.9 steals, while shooting 61.9 percent from the field, including a team-high 53.8 percent on 3-pointers.
Mike Brown has been here before.
Brown — who has won four championships as an assistant — is entering the Eastern Conference finals as a head coach for the third time in his career.
His first two trips (2007, 2009) came with Cleveland, where his son, Cameron, spent much of his childhood, then played football and coached at local Case Western Reserve University.
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“I had a great time there … but my youngest son really likes Cleveland,” said Brown, whose son is now an assistant with the 49ers. “The only thing that brought back memories was he said he might come back to Cleveland for a game. He hasn’t been any place else, but he might come to Cleveland for a game.”
In Brown’s most recent trip leading a team to the conference finals, the LeBron James-led Cavaliers swept the first two rounds.
After an eight-day layoff, Cleveland faced Orlando, which upset the Cavaliers despite coming off a seven-game series against the defending champion Celtics.
“You always try to lean on stuff that you’ve done in the past,” said Brown, who enters another matchup with a similar rest disparity. “But in the same breath, this team is different. It’s a different time. You lean on your past experiences. You lean on players. You lean on the coaches around you.”
