Knicks' Mitchell Robinson in a better frame of mind as he gets set to return to court
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson fights for rebounding position against Phoenix Suns forwards Yuta Watanabe and Drew Eubanks during the second half of a game on Nov. 26, 2023, at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Peter K. Afriyie
DENVER — When Mitchell Robinson got the word that his fractured left ankle would require surgery, shutting down his season for months when he was in the midst of the best stretch of play of his career, his reaction was what you might expect.
Speaking for the first time since being shut down, a day after he returned to practice in full, Robinson acknowledged to the traveling beat writers on Thursday that it was one more frustrating situation for a player too accustomed to them.
“Yeah, I’m like, man, I’m trying to figure out ways to stop it from happening, the best ways that I can,” Robinson said. “And it’s like one thing after one thing. Got to just keep figuring it out. Yeah, I felt like I was finally getting in shape to the top of my career right there. And the next thing you know, just went down and I wanted to throw [expletive].”
So did he throw [expletive]?
“Hell, yeah,” Robinson said. “I threw [expletive].”
Robinson has dealt with an array of injuries throughout his six-year career, dealing with foot and ankle issues that have limited him and set him back time after time. But this season he finally was playing up to the expectations that have accompanied him since his arrival as a second-round pick in 2018 after never playing in college. He was averaging a career-best 10.3 rebounds — including 5.0 offensive boards — per game, gaining momentum as a player who could be a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and anchoring the back of the Knicks' defense.
But in Boston on Dec. 8, something felt wrong. He went to the bowels of TD Garden and had an X-ray performed. It cleared him to return to the game, and he briefly did.
But that brief appearance back on the floor was all he would get before undergoing surgery three days later.
“It was crazy to me too,” Robinson said. “I was fine. Felt like a little discomfort. Next thing you know, went in the back, everything came back clear. So I just got back out there.”
But when he returned home, that changed.
“We had the medical team check it out,” Robinson said. “And I got the phone call.”
After that loss in Boston, the Knicks sat at 12-9, but they have held it together despite injuries to Robinson, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, taking a 41-27 record into Thursday night's game against the Nuggets. They revamped the team with the arrival of Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, and Robinson’s close friend, Isaiah Hartenstein, has taken over at center, playing the most expanded role of his career.
Coach Tom Thibodeau hinted Wednesday that Hartenstein will remain in the starting lineup when Robinson is cleared to return as he ramps up from the extended absence.
“Ay, man, whatever helps the team,” Robinson said. "I’m down for whatever.”
On an Instagram post of a fan site that had him pictured with Anunoby, Randle, Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo — a lineup that has not played a second together yet — Robinson commented this week that he would embrace a role with the second unit that would give him more opportunities to show off his game.
“Both guys have gone back and forth,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t see what he wrote or said, anything like that. But when a guy comes back off an extended injury or time where he’s been out, I think it takes a little bit of time to get that timing back. It probably makes more sense with shorter minutes to do it in that way. We’ll see how it unfolds.”
It helps that the two centers are so close — Robinson texting Hartenstein after almost every game during his absence, encouraging Hartenstein and complimenting his play, while Hartenstein tried to help him through the frustrating time away. So getting him back at practice this week has been good for both of them.
“Yeah, it’s exciting — even just him for a human being,” Hartenstein said. “I know being out that long, it’s probably mentally not that easy. Just having him back, seeing him doing what he does, playing basketball. It was exciting from an on-court perspective and then just as a human being also, really excited seeing him back and doing his stuff.”
Robinson was enthusiastic about what the Knicks can become once — if — they get all the pieces together.
“I feel like with me and OG on the defensive end, we can get back to what we need to be — especially in that area,” Robinson said. “We’re going to have our guys that’s going to score. So we’re going to continue to work. And we’re going to be all right.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
