A couple of minutes into Game 3 of Toronto’s opening-round playoff series against Washington, OG Anunoby took an elbow to the back from eight-year NBA veteran Markieff Morris.
The Raptors rookie put two hands to Morris’s chest and shoved him back. A scuffle ensued.
The bright lights of the post-season can prove too much for a first-timer — think Terrence Ross in the Raptors’ playoff series against Brooklyn in 2014.
But through the first six playoff games of his brief NBA career, Anunoby has stood up to the challenge, knocking down shots with an icy sureness, and coming up huge on the defensive end against Washington’s all-stars John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey calls Anunoby an "old-head rookie."
"He’s very confident in who he is and what he is and his role," Casey said. "I think that’s a lot of the maturity factor that you see is the confidence he has in himself, which is a good thing. I haven’t seen it shaken yet, so hopefully it continues and continues to grow. I think this year has been great for the young man. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to, he’s grown in so many areas. This is only the beginning for him."
He’s a 47 per cent shooter, averaging 5.9 points in 20 minutes a game in the regular-season. Incredibly, his stats have improved in the post-season — he’s shooting a sizzling 59 per cent and 47 per cent from the three-point line.
The 20-year-old Anunoby is about to face the toughest test of his career in stopping LeBron James.
Bring it, the rookie says.
"I’m pretty confident," he said. "I think each time I’ve played him it’s gotten better guarding him, so, I’m confident.
"He’s pretty strong but I feel like I’m strong too."
Anunoby’s poise in the post-season has come as no surprise to DeMar DeRozan, who said that’s part of his personality.
"He’s a unique individual," DeRozan said with a laugh, recently. "If you know him, he’s a unique individual. And I’ll leave it at that. So it’s not surprising at all.
This is the moment of truth for both. LeBron is one of the smartest players in NBA history, and he will relentlessly test their defensive IQ. Just having size and speed isn’t enough to guard him. He will punish them every time they don’t position themselves correctly, reach for a ball they can’t get, or don’t make the correct rotation. On the other end of the floor, he’s going to try to ration his energy as much as possible, which means Anunoby and Siakam have to make him work. The best version of those two, which we saw at times in the regular season, will tire him out with their perpetual motion. However, if they go through a shooting slump or a crisis of confidence, LeBron will rest on defense and come at them with guns blazing on offense.
