The New York Knicks have a unique defensive player who is a major asset to the team, Richard Jefferson points out.
The Boston Celtics had an errant shooting night against the New York Knicks in a surprise home loss in Game 1 of their playoff series.
There has been criticism of the choices made by Jayson Tatum and co with their persistence shooting threes, a stylistic feature of the Celtics’ game that can occasionally betray them.
But there is another element too. How much of the Celtics’ persistence in shooting from outside the arc was because of the Knicks’ staunch defense and the way they forced their opponents into making bad choices?
Former NBA star Richard Jefferson believes one special Knicks player brings that to every opponent he faces.
OG Anunoby compared to Ron Artest
OG Anunoby has been a force all season for the New York Knicks, a strong two-way player, who Kendrick Perkins has compared to Scottie Pippen.
Speaking to the Ryen Russillo podcast, Richard Jefferson made the comparison between OG Anunoby and former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Ron Artest, later known as Metta World Peace.
Jefferson explained: “With OG, he’s so physically strong that you can’t get him off his defensive path to create space. You hit his wall, and he can veer you off of your path with his strength, you can’t turn the corner right. You can’t turn the corner or bump him off.”
He elaborated: “The thing that makes him unique is he takes you off your path into a lesser percentage shot, that’s what makes it. You can still shoot up over them, but the crossover in front, he stays there.
“Think Ron Artest, big, strong, perfect perimeter and when he starts to move his body, if you’re here, you’re not going through him and pushing him.”
He compared the challenge he poses as different to those with long wingspans like Timberwolves star Jaden McDaniels and Knicks teammate Mikael Bridges, who are harder to go around but can be bumped off course.
“You can go through [Jaden] McDaniels, you can go through [Mikael] Bridges, you can’t go through Ron Artest the same way you couldn’t go through OG.”
OG Anunoby was the Knicks standout player
OG Anunoby did a strong defensive job on the Boston Celtics in their Game 1 victory – but the data shows how he was their standout player overall with a huge defensive contribution.
Ratings via SofaScore place Anunoby as the Knicks’ best player, scoring 29 points level with Jalen Brunson, on top of his defensive work.
Anunoby will have to have to maintain these levels all series, and we will have to see if Boston can figure out an answer for him in Game 2 and beyond.
