Knicks get help with Isaiah Hartenstein, Donte DiVincenzo and Bojan Bogdanovic back at practice
Isaiah Hartenstein of the Knicks reacts during the second half against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 1. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH — The Knicks reconvened at the Madison Square Garden practice facility with some players flying back from tropical destinations and some from Indianapolis where they spent the All-Star break as part of the festivities. And for Tom Thibodeau, sporting as much color as the fluorescent lights of his office would provide, his destination was less enticing.
Asked if he’d gone someplace warm, Thibodeau joked, “ Practice facility, 72 degrees and always sunny in here. You saw the windows they put in.”
His disposition at least might have been a little brighter than when the team broke up after four straight injury-riddled losses put a damper on what had been a stellar run through the schedule to that point. With the time off, the Knicks are expected to have at least three of the six injured players back for Thursday’s game in Philadelphia, and they are another week closer for Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.
Anunoby spoke for the first time since abruptly shutting down his season during pregame warm-ups in Charlotte on January 29. His arrival after the Dec. 30 trade had been a revelation with the Knicks compiling a 12-2 record once he joined the lineup. But after trying to rehabilitate a swollen right elbow, he underwent surgery on Feb. 8 to remove a loose bone fragment and will re-evaluated at the end of the month.
“It had been bothering me, but in that Charlotte game, in the warm-ups, it was more swollen than usual,” Anunoby said. “We tried other options. We tried rest. We tried treatment stuff. We tried strengthening it. But I think everyone agreed this would be the best option to be 100% moving forward.”
While he said he didn’t have a target date yet, asked if he expected to be back during the regular season he said, “Yeah, yeah. For sure. Hopefully. Just following the doctor’s orders, following the medical staff, just progressing day by day but I’m feeling better and better so yeah, I want to be back as soon as possible for sure.”
“He’s doing whatever the physical therapists are allowing him to do,” Thibodeau said. “The good thing about it is he can do everything with his left hand, and he can run, so like cardio aspect of it is good. He can condition, that sort of thing. And so he’s probably getting pretty close to whatever the next step is. And that’s probably going to be the shooting component. and then once he gets to that phase then it’s when he’s ready.”
Anunoby wasn’t sure if he would travel with the team on the road or remain behind to work on his rehabilitation, but he has kept engaged with the team.
“Still watching film, still going through plays with the team, watching plays, watching practice, keeping up to date with that stuff,” Anunoby said. “And then just talking to the guys, asking what they’re seeing out there, give my input of what I’m seeing, talking to coach.”
In the last game before the break the Knicks were without six of their top eight players, but three practiced Tuesday evening and are expected to play Thursday as long as there are no setbacks Wednesday — Isaiah Hartenstein, Donte DiVincenzo and Bojan Bogdanovic.
“Yeah, they were here over the break,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll see where they are tomorrow. All three practiced today so see how they respond tomorrow.”
Notes & quotes: The second 10-day contract for Taj Gibson expired Monday. To bring him back now the Knicks would have to sign him for the remainder of the season and although he was not with the team Tuesday Thibodeau did not rule that out. “That’s more of a front office [decision],” he said. “Obviously, we all feel very strongly about him, but we probably need a little more information in terms of our team, where we are and what the needs are going to be. Once we get through this next week we’ll have a better idea in terms of guys returning and that sort of thing. We always look at all the possibilities and whatever is best for the team that’s what we’re going to do.”
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.
