OG Anunoby’s ‘wild stuff’ on defense proving to be ‘invaluable’ for Knicks

HOUSTON — Andrew Nembhard blew past Jalen Brunson and was greeted by a bear attack. 

OG Anunoby, as he often does on the perimeter, left his assignment and lunged at Nembhard with a swift, two-handed swipe generated from a wrestler’s crouch. 

“He pounces,” Josh Hart said. “He’s in a gap. He anticipates. I’ve never seen anything like that.” 

Nembhard, a Pacers guard, wanted no part of Anunoby in the second quarter of last week’s Knicks victory.

He retreated with his dribble, taking a couple steps behind the 3-point line before abandoning all plans of testing that side of the defense.

Nembhard switched to a pick-and-roll with Karl-Anthony Towns’ man, Myles Turner, and the sequence ended with an Indiana turnover. 

“Nembhard was like, ‘Woah,’ ” Hart recalled Friday. “He was surprised.” 

It’s easy to trace Nembhard’s thought process.

He fell into the bear trap in the first quarter.

That time, Nembhard got a small step on Mikal Bridges and drove left into the middle, committing a turnover because Anunoby lurked and lunged at the ball with that trademark low center of gravity. 

“I don’t see it as gambling. I see it as being aggressive,” said Anunoby, whose wingspan is fairly big at 7-foot-2 on his 6-foot-7 body but looks even longer when he’s lunging to swipe a dribbler’s legs. “And making the offense uncomfortable. Not just let them do whatever they want. Just trying to make them back up or pick up their dribble.” 

Aggressiveness, calculated risk, whatever you want to call it, Anunoby has earned the benefit of the doubt. 

Through five games, and especially in the three victories, he’s again demonstrated the defensive versatility and instincts that compelled the Knicks to hand him the richest contract in franchise history at $212.5 million.

More so than Bridges — who has also been a solid defender since the ugly opening night in Boston — Anunoby is both strong and quick enough to switch on 90 percent of the NBA players, give or take. In the win over Miami on Wednesday, for instance, he defended Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier. 

“[OG] does some wild stuff on that side of the ball,” Brunson remarked. 

Two nights later, coach Tom Thibodeau was absolutely gushing after Anunoby helped force the Pistons into 22 turnovers. 

“We know how valuable he is to us,” Thibodeau said. “To me, he’s invaluable.” 

Anunoby’s natural comparison is Luol Deng, an easy leap because of the Thibodeau connection.

Deng was Thibodeau’s “invaluable” wing defender in Chicago, more than a decade before Anunoby assumed the position. 

But Thibodeau doesn’t do comparisons very often, and he avoided it with Anunoby. 

“Each guy is unique, and there are things about him that are so unique and different: His size, his strength, his speed, his anticipation, his ability to read and to see things ahead,” the coach said. “When you see things ahead, it makes you quicker. And that leads to a lot of disruption. And he knows how to read plays. If someone is loose with the ball, he’s very active with his hands. Disruptive off the ball but also very good on the ball, and he’s super long. So he can fly by you and he can come back into the play and still impact the shot. 

“His pick-and-roll defense is unique. And then the fact that he can switch onto everybody. That’s what makes him very unique. And to me, it’s great for our team.” 

In a lineup with two offensive-minded stars in Brunson and Towns — who both carry defensive deficiencies — Anunoby’s presence covers up warts.

That was the intention of combining Bridges and Anunoby on the wings, a duo brilliantly labeled Friday night by Hart as “Wingstop,” a play off the chicken-wing chain. 

The big concern with Anunoby throughout his career has been his health.

He’s missed at least 30 games in three of the past four seasons. 

Only five contests into this campaign — with two rest days before Monday’s contest in Houston — it’s so far, so good. Anunoby is third in minutes at 35 per game and leads the Knicks in steal attacks. 

“I’ve never seen a man swipe at the ball with two hands,” Towns said. “I’ve never seen that. His athleticism, his anticipation. But also just technique. The way he implements that into one play is not something a lot of NBA players can do.”