Little clarity on Mitchell Robinson's injury and if he'll play in Game 1 for the Knicks
GREENBURGH — The Knicks spoke Friday afternoon about the broken right pinkie suffered by Mitchell Robinson but offered little clarity on the injury, how it happened or what his status will be for the upcoming NBA Finals.
A league source confirmed an ESPN report Friday morning that Robinson underwent surgery to repair the injury and there is hope that he will be ready Wednesday for Game 1 of the series with the opponent still to be determined (The Spurs and Thunder play Game 7 on Saturday night).
But the Knicks would not offer any specifics on the injury or the timeline.
“Obviously, I don’t know much about the details,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “For me, it’s the same thing. I don’t want to know. Just let me know if he can play and when he can play. And just like we normally would – we’re getting everyone else ready to go.”
Brown did say that it did not happen in Game 4 as they completed the sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night or in practice this week. The hope within the organization for a return was evident, but so too were the preparations for every contingency.
"For me, I’m always going with whoever is available today,” Brown said. “And he didn’t practice today. So we’re getting whoever we need ready to go.”
Robinson is a vital piece of what the Knicks do, but he has played just 14.2 minutes per game in the postseason, serving as the backup to Karl-Anthony Towns at center. If he can’t go, the Knicks can use OG Anunoby in a small-ball lineup or turn to third-string center Ariel Hukporti.
“We have to prepare,” Towns said. "And we're preparing every single day for whatever the situation may be, and we're just ready. We have a lot of days --- we've been fortunate, it's a fortunate thing that it happens when we have a lot of time or we can figure out a lot of the puzzle. But, you know, we don't know what the picture is yet until we get to Wednesday next week.”
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.
