Tom Thibodeau bristles at OG Anunoby question raised by Jalen Brunsons Knicks return

The return of Jalen Brunson brought a significant subsidiary question regarding OG Anunoby, specifically whether the Knicks can still get top-flight offensive production from their wing if he’s ceding the ball to the point guard.It felt a natural concern since Brunson is so ball-dominant and Anunoby’s usage rate traveled upward the last month.But Tom Thibodeau pushed back hard at the notion that it’s worth discussing. “That stuff, it’s white noise,” Thibodeau said Saturday after his Knicks pummeled the Hawks.

“The game tells you what to do.Whose shot is it in transition? The open man.

And if there’s two defenders on somebody, whose shot is it? You have the responsibility as a primary scorer to make the right play.The notion that it has to be this way, that way, there has to be a willingness to sacrifice by everybody. “The team has to come first.

What’s best for our team? What gives the team the best chance to win? And that’s all anyone should be thinking about.They shouldn’t be thinking about who’s doing this, who’s doing that.

That’s not the way this game works.If you care about winning that stuff shouldn’t matter.”The reporter followed up that Anunoby spent more time standing in the corner in lineups with Brunson, who is starting Sunday against the Suns following a 15-game injury absence.That further set off the coach.“That notion is a bunch of garbage.

…He’s all over the floor.That’s how he’s scoring.

That’s the way everyone’s scoring,” Thibodeau said.“So if you have a drive pass-pass, who is supposed to be in the corner? It’s drive-and-kick and if you’re cutting and you’re moving without the ball, which is what you’re supposed to do, right, if you push the ball up your first responsibility is to create pace. “Your second responsibility is to create movement.

And everyone’s supposed to read the man in front of him.And if you read the man in front of you and he cuts then you replace in fron...