The New York Knicks, after much ado, finally pulled the trigger on a trade for OG Anunoby to end the 2023 calendar year. Anunoby is one of the best perimeter defenders in the association, and that quality of his was sure to make him an immediate favorite of head coach Tom Thibodeau, which is exactly what has transpired. Thibodeau has relied on Anunoby to log heavy minutes on the wing, with the 26-year old swingman playing another 43 minutes in the Knicks' 113-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

That was the third consecutive game in which Thibodeau has asked Anunoby to play at least 43 minutes. Now, the Knicks head coach is notorious for giving the players he trusts as many minutes as he can handle. But it might be a slight concern that Anunoby is logging such a heavy workload at just the halfway mark of the season.

Still, Tom Thibodeau defended his decision to make OG Anunoby play 43+ minutes on both ends of a back-to-back set by saying that the Knicks forward has experience in this regard after playing for Nick Nurse's Toronto Raptors.

“He played in Toronto,” Thibodeau said in his postgame presser, per SNY TV's Knicks Videos on Twitter (X). “In the end, sometimes that's what's called for. So you do what you think is called for. In the end, the minutes will be where the minutes are.”

The Knicks, during their win over the Wizards, were missing one of their best depth pieces on the wing in Josh Hart, who was unable to suit up due to a knee injury. Tom Thibodeau clearly no longer trusts Quentin Grimes and Evan Fournier, and with the Wizards putting up more of a fight than expected, he felt like he couldn't take any chances, hence OG Anunoby and the rest of the starters' heavy minutes.

“We got to find our way as we're adjusting. Find a way to win and then build our rhythm, concentrate on improvement, and it takes some time. That's where we are. Just go day by day and some guys are playing big minutes. We're shorthanded, that's what happens,” Thibodeau added.