The Knicks seem to have sidestepped danger with Jalen Brunson, who practiced Sunday after turning his left ankle two days earlier.
Mitchell Robinson does not appear to have been as lucky.
The Knicks’ starting center and defensive anchor did not practice, and already has been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Raptors with ankle inflammation and was sent for further testing on that left ankle, which he injured Friday in Boston.
Coach Tom Thibodeau did not reveal the nature of the testing and said he did not know if the injury could keep Robinson out for long.
“Until we get the report, it’s just speculation,” Thibodeau said after practice.
Robinson hurt his ankle in the first half of the loss to the Celtics and required X-rays, which Thibodeau had said came back negative.
Robinson was not on the bench for the start of the second half but returned soon thereafter and played nearly five minutes of the third quarter before sitting for the fourth.
After the game, Thibodeau said Robinson was “fine.”
“It’s nothing crazy,” Robinson, who at the time thought he would be OK by Monday, said after Friday’s game. “Think I took a wrong step maybe.”
Robinson is among the best rebounders in the NBA and a valued rim protector, the type who can dominate games while barely scoring. The 7-footer is averaging 5.3 offensive bounds per game, which leads the league, for a Knicks team that is fifth overall in rebounding.
Grabbing boards and loose balls — creating extra possessions — might be the Knicks’ greatest strength.
Another team strength has been health, and Robinson had played in the first 21 games this season.
In his first six NBA seasons, Robinson maxed out in playing 72 games (in 2021-22) and has battled various injuries along the way.
Robinson missed 15 straight games with a broken hand during the 2020-21 season, then returned for four games before fracturing a bone in his right foot.
Last season, a November knee injury forced him to the sideline for two and a half weeks before he required surgery on a fractured right thumb in January, which cost him 14 games.
This season has been smooth for the 25-year-old, who might be playing the best defense of his career.
The Knicks have been excellent in keeping teams on the perimeter and are allowing 44.7 points in the paint per game, the sixth-best in the NBA.
Robinson missing extended time would be a blow for the Knicks, who have dropped two straight entering their matchup with Toronto at the Garden.
If there is a silver lining, the Knicks are deep at center and likely would plug in Isaiah Hartenstein as starter and lightly used, third-year big man Jericho Sims as backup.
Hartenstein brings a similar skill set, so not much changes when he is on the floor. Sims, a leaper and stud athlete, has played in just nine games and has rarely logged minutes that matter this season.
“I felt all along that one of our strengths was that position,” Thibodeau said of his centers. “The way Mitch has been playing, the way Isaiah has been playing — actually, Isaiah has … deserved more [time].
“But also, Jericho, we forget that he’s sitting there. And Jericho played very, very well for us last year.”
If there is a second silver lining, Brunson is the piece the Knicks cannot lose. The point guard is listed as questionable for Monday’s game with an ankle sprain after going down in garbage time Friday and limping off the court, one of the worst scenes of the Knicks’ season.
But Brunson had a normal gait while taking in Villanova’s win over UCLA on Saturday in Philadelphia, and Thibodeau said his point guard is fine.
The Knicks will hope they can say the same about their starting center.
“It’s a long season, guys in and out of the lineup. Injuries are part of the game,” Josh Hart said. “Don’t know much about [Robinson] yet. But whenever someone is out, it’s an opportunity for others to step in and other roles to be increased.”