NBA trends I’m watching: Giannis’ playmaking, OG Anunoby drawing fouls and more

A defensive menace is a scoring demon. A high-powered engine has rediscovered his horsepower. And a super talent has merged two stars into one.

Let’s run through three NBA trends that have caught my eye over the past week:

New OG Anunoby

The New York Knicks are not at full strength, but don’t tell OG Anunoby, who has taken over the offense with All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson out for the past month.

Anunoby is draining 3-pointers and scoring like never before. He’s posted at least 23 points in eight consecutive games, the longest streak of his career. But one trend stands above the rest: He is drawing fouls with vigor. And he’s doing it with a move he has never used this often. Especially lately, Anunoby, who is averaging more than 23 points during these 14 games without Brunson, is the Knicks’ most enthusiastic attacker of the basket.

With Brunson sidelined (which might not be for much longer, as he nears his return from a sprained ankle), the Knicks don’t have many avenues into the deep paint. Karl-Anthony Towns will assault the rim, though mostly on drives. His post-ups tend to be farther out. Mikal Bridges most often stops before arriving within shouting distance of the rim, preferring fallaway jumpers.

But now, Anunoby is barreling through defenders, almost reminiscent of one-time Knicks forward Julius Randle, who would bully opponents on drives. Of course, once Anunoby reaches a step inside the 3-point arc, he turns into another former teammate.

He’s ripped off a rip-through, the go-to move of DeMar DeRozan, who overlapped with the 27-year-old during Anunoby’s rookie season with the Toronto Raptors. They have worked out together during most summers since, including this past one.

DeRozan has made a career off two trademarks: his pump fake, which will eject defenders into the air before he flies into them for contact, and his step-through, another method to draw fouls. Anunoby is mastering the latter.

He will go right, then, upon gathering the basketball, will hold it out, almost baiting defenders into swiping at him, only to step through to the other side, bringing the ball with him and drawing a foul. Here he is earning two free throws last week against the Milwaukee Bucks. Anunoby swerves around a screen, receives a pass and attacks 7-footer Brook Lopez:

Anunoby tied an at-the-time career high during the Milwaukee game, shooting 10 free throws that evening. Two games later, he attempted 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

He’s never gotten to the line this often — and he’s never attacked in this fashion.

With Brunson around, he’s more commonly in the corners, where there isn’t the space to try this step-through. Instead, he is more of an off-ball cutter and catch-and-shoot option. Now, he more often hangs around the wings, from where he can raid the paint.

As teammate Josh Hart put it, “He realized he’s a 6-foot-8, 245-pound demon.”

During these 14 games without Brunson, Anunoby is getting to the line more than twice as often: 5.2 times a game compared to 2.5 before the injury. Much of it is because of this move and because of those demonic drives.

He has drawn shooting fouls on 18 percent of his drives to the basket over the 14-game heater, nearly twice his rate from before Brunson got hurt and third in the NBA during this stretch, according to Second Spectrum.

Anunoby has a new style, and it’s bringing new results.

Safe driving

Anunoby might bruise defenders on his way to the hoop, but there are other ways to reach the rim.

Enter two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, who is slithering by anyone unfortunate enough to stand in front of him.

It once again feels like 2023, when Haliburton burst onto early-season MVP ballots, leading a historically dominant, fast-paced Indiana Pacers offense. His 30(ish)-game run to begin 2023-24 drew comparisons to Steve Nash. The mere presence of Haliburton, the argument went, guaranteed an elite offense.

But an injury pulled him off the court, then limited him once he returned. For the remainder of last season, Haliburton didn’t carry the same verve he had in autumn.

Now, it’s back.

The Pacers (45-31) are in a strong position to earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, vaulting into the Eastern Conference’s top four after a slow start and climbing there, in part, because 2023 Haliburton has made a grand return.

Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers have climbed into the top four of the Eastern Conference. (Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Haliburton is somehow aggressive without making mistakes. Most point guards who don’t turn over the basketball are the Chris Paul type, the ones who prod a defense, wait for an error and then jump on it. The prime version of Paul was the ultimate ball-control maestro. His offenses consistently ranked at or near the top of the league. But his teams also played slowly.

That’s not how the Pacers go. They push on the break and get into their half-court actions expeditiously. Haliburton is at the forefront of it all.

In 17 games played since the All-Star break, he’s committed only 20 turnovers, compared to 190 assists. Oh, and by the way, he’s scoring 21.1 points a game on can’t-miss shooting numbers.

When Haliburton heads to the paint, the Pacers become unstoppable — if only because he doesn’t make mistakes.

Since the All-Star break, 74 players have driven to the basket at least 150 times, according to Second Spectrum. Out of that group, Haliburton has the second-best turnover rate on drives. (He trails only a member of the assist-to-turnover royal family, Chicago Bulls guard Tre Jones, who has not committed a turnover while driving to the basket in almost two months. Yes, Jones is hurt right now, but this is a 15-game streak that includes 154 drives. With no turnovers. No one death grips a basketball like the Jones brothers.)

But remember with Haliburton: It’s not just that he doesn’t give the ball away. It’s that he manages to hold onto it while still attacking.

The Pacers are scoring an incomprehensible 130.1 points per 100 possessions on shots or passes out of those Haliburton drives, easily tops in the NBA over this stretch.

Indiana is 15-8 since the All-Star break and, more impressively, 35-16 since an underwhelming 10-15 start. The Pacers will exhaust whomever they play, and they won’t give possessions away.

Damian Lillard replacement

The Bucks are not making up for Damian Lillard’s absence with a collective group, a backup point guard or any other breakout contributor. Instead, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing the part of both himself and the nine-time All-Star, who is out indefinitely after doctors discovered a blood clot in his leg a couple of weeks ago.

Ryan Rollins has replaced Lillard in the first unit, but Antetokounmpo is now running the Bucks, reminiscent of years ago when coach Jason Kidd tried the young buck at point guard.

If games against what is left of the Sixers still count, Antetokounmpo is coming off a career game Thursday by going for 35 points, 17 rebounds and a personal best 20 assists, which is a stat line that has never been done. Only a couple of days earlier, he dished out 11 dimes against the Phoenix Suns.

The Bucks are using him in pick-and-rolls aplenty. In crunchtime against Phoenix, Antetokounmpo initiated just about every offensive play, much of the time with a ball screen from Brook Lopez.

On this play with under three minutes to go, both defenders in the action — Nick Richards, who was guarding Lopez, and Cody Martin, who was manning Antetokounmpo — drift to the dribbler. Antetokounmpo recognizes as soon as a second Suns player approaches him and tosses the lob to Lopez.

Antetokounmpo hooked up with Lopez for 18 pick-and-rolls against Phoenix, the most they have run together in a game since becoming teammates in 2018, according to Second Spectrum.

The final one was the dagger. With a minute to go, Antetokounmpo veered left around a screen from Lopez and flung a chest pass to Rollins, who drained a game-icing 3-pointer.

For now, the Bucks don’t have Lillard. But Antetokounmpo’s ability to do everything has made life for the Bucks a tad easier.

(Top photo of OG Anunoby and Giannis Antetokounmpo: Brad Penner / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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