Mitchell Robinson out at least eight weeks in Knicks injury crisis
The Knicks are going to find out, again, what life is like without Mitchell Robinson, their defensive anchor.
The standout center will miss at least the next eight to 10 weeks after sustaining a stress fracture in his left ankle, coach Tom Thibodeau said on Monday before the Knicks beat the skidding Raptors, 136-130, at the Garden. Robinson suffered the injury in Friday’s loss to the Celtics.
It is a major blow to Thibodeau’s team. Robinson, 25, is the key to the Knicks’ defense and one of the premier offensive rebounders in the league.
The Knicks are ninth in the NBA in defensive rating (111.9), although there has been slippage of late, particularly in blowout losses to the Bucks and the Celtics when they were shredded from the perimeter.
“It’s hard when you lose a player like Mitch, but you don’t replace him with one guy,” Thibodeau said. “You replace him with everybody. That’s the way we’re approaching it. We feel strongly that we have more than enough. … We’re capable of playing great team defense. We’ve been an outstanding rebounding team the entire year. We just have to do it more as a group, and that’s going to be our challenge.”
Said Jalen Brunson: “It sucks. Mitch is a big part of what we do.”
Robinson’s injury comes at an inopportune time. After facing Toronto, the Knicks head out on the road for a five-game trip that starts at the Jazz and includes games against the Suns, Lakers and Clippers before wrapping up against the Nets.
Eight of their next 10 contests are on the road, and two of the home games are against the powerhouse Bucks.
The only saving grace is the Knicks are deep at his position, with Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims able to fill in.
Sims got the start against Toronto while Hartenstein played the bulk of the minutes, notching 11 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists. Sims had seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
Neither, however, is Robinson.
The 7-footer was averaging 6.2 points, a career-high 10.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game.
“Been battling stuff my whole life; some days I feel like I take 10 steps ahead, and others feel like I took 20 steps back; even when I do what I’m supposed to god throws these battles at me that feel like they’re unbeatable no matter what I do,” Robinson wrote on Snapchat. “I know I shouldn’t be letting this stuff get to my mental but over time it just takes over.”
Injuries have been an issue throughout Robinson’s career. He appeared in only 59 games last season and has never played in more than 72.
His value shouldn’t be questioned.
The Knicks have outscored the opposition by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when Robinson is on the floor and his 5.3 offensive rebounds per game leads the NBA. He’s also tied for 12th in the entire league in overall rebounds per game.
While Hartenstein is in the rotation and Sims was not until now, Sims started in Robinson’s place.
Last year, Thiobdeau started Sims when Robinson was out because he wanted to keep the second unit together.
The 6-10 Sims started 16 games last season. This year, he has only appeared in nine games and has yet to log more than seven minutes in a single appearance. That will change now obviously.
“He was having a great season so far. We’re all kind of bummed, but we’re all going to be here to support him,” said Hartenstein, who had 11 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes. “He actually called before the game to wish me good luck. That’s what I’ll miss the most, just him as a person. Me and Jericho will keep holding it down until he’s back.”