OG Anunoby (Knicks) Remains Out — Right Hamstring Strain Tracking Into Playoff Pressure Window

OG Anunoby is listed out with a right leg hamstring strain, and this designation is worth taking seriously in a playoff context where teams routinely downplay injury severity. The grade of the hamstring strain is INFERRED — no imaging confirmation or clinical grade has been publicly disclosed — but the combination of a clean "Out" designation during the NBA playoffs, without a day-to-day qualifier, suggests this is not a Grade 1 presentation. Grade 1 hamstring strains typically resolve in 1–2 weeks, and a player in a playoff series would almost certainly be listed as Questionable or Doubtful rather than Out if that were the case. A Grade 2 partial disruption of the myotendinous unit is the most clinically consistent read here, carrying a published RTP range of 3–6 weeks based on observational literature.

The critical context is the playoff timing. It is May 15th — deep in the NBA postseason — and the incentive structure is firmly stacked toward playing through pain. The fact that Anunoby is being held out, rather than managed through a Questionable designation, is meaningful signal. Hamstring injuries at this point in the season reflect the cumulative load of a full regular season and playoff basketball, and that tissue fatigue context genuinely matters: rushed hamstring returns carry well-documented reinjury risk, and a re-tear in a playoff series would be substantially more damaging than sitting out additional games now.

The minimum biological floor for a Grade 2 myotendinous strain is 3 weeks, with full remodeling typically requiring 4–6 weeks. Elite treatment can optimize that window, but it cannot compress it below the biological floor. Per playoff protocol, OTM would only project a sit-out at Doubtful or Out — and this is a confirmed Out. Unless the designation shifts materially toward Questionable in the next reporting cycle, Anunoby's playoff participation in the immediate near-term should not be assumed.