The day after a disappointing loss to the Wizards, New York Knicks fans learned that Mitchell Robinson had undergone surgery earlier that morning to repair his fractured right thumb. Robinson suffered the injury in the first quarter against Washington, but it was surprising to learn that the injury required surgery.
Robinson, who signed a four-year, $60 million deal in the offseason, will be re-evaluated in three weeks. The news couldn’t come at a worse time as the Knicks will play four of their final six games of January on the road against challenging opponents, starting with the Hawks on Friday night in Atlanta. New York will then go to Toronto before returning to MSG to host Cleveland before going to Boston and Brooklyn, and then wrapping the month up with a home game against LeBron James and the Lakers.
Currently, the Knicks sit in playoff range at No. 6 in the Eastern Conference with a 25-21 record. Given New York’s upcoming schedule, now’s not the time to be without your starting center, but that’s something that the Knicks will have to try to overcome.
Robinson was sidelined for eight games earlier in the season when he sprained his knee against Philadelphia. New York went 4-4 in his absence. The 24-year-old has dealt with a series of injuries in the past, but last season, he played in a career-high 72 games. Hopefully, he’ll recover quickly and will be able to get back on the floor sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, here are three things that the Knicks must do as they proceed without Robinson.
3 things the Knicks must do after brutal Mitchell Robinson injury news
3: Consider adding a center ahead of trade deadline
With there being a little less than three weeks left until the Feb. 9 trade deadline, that means Mitchell Robinson likely won’t be back before then. By the time he returns to the court, he could be playing with a couple of new teammates for the first time.
The Knicks are expected to be one of the more active teams ahead of the deadline with names like Zach LaVine and Gary Trent Jr. popping up in trade rumors. However, with Robinson out for at least a few weeks and Isaiah Hartenstein’s disappointing play, New York needs to consider adding another center to the roster.
We know how much the Knicks like to do deals with the Mavericks, so JaVale McGee is a player that New York may express interest in. He’s on the decline, but he’d be a stopgap option. Then there’s also Mo Bamba, the Harlem native, that could be traded over the next few weeks. He’s making $10.3 million this season and has a $10.3 million non-guaranteed option in 2023-24.
The Knicks have been linked to Jae Crowder, too. He hasn’t played in a game for the Suns this season because he wasn’t given the extension that he wanted. Crowder is making $10.2 million this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
You can just about bet that the front office has already planned to inquire about a couple of players if they haven’t done so already.
sidelined for eight games</a> earlier in the season when he sprained his knee against Philadelphia. New York went 4-4 in his absence. The 24-year-old has dealt with a series of injuries in the past, but last season, he played in a career-high 72 games. Hopefully, he’ll recover quickly and will be able to get back on the floor sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>In the meantime, here are three things that the Knicks must do as they proceed without Robinson.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mitchell Robinson underwent successful surgery today to repair his fractured right thumb at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks.</p>
<p>— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://twitter.com/NY_KnicksPR/status/1616162803156410369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>January 19, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>3 things the Knicks must do after brutal Mitchell Robinson injury news</h2>
<h3>3: Consider adding a center ahead of trade deadline</h3>
<p>With there being a little less than three weeks left until the Feb. 9 trade deadline, that means Mitchell Robinson likely won’t be back before then. By the time he returns to the court, he could be playing with a couple of new teammates for the first time.</p>
<p>The Knicks are expected to be one of the more active teams ahead of the deadline with names like Zach LaVine and Gary Trent Jr. popping up in trade rumors. However, with Robinson out for at least a few weeks and Isaiah Hartenstein’s disappointing play, New York needs to consider adding another center to the roster.</p>
<p>We know how much the Knicks like to do deals with the Mavericks, so JaVale McGee is a player that New York may express interest in. He’s on the decline, but he’d be a stopgap option. Then there’s also Mo Bamba, the Harlem native, that could be traded over the next few weeks. He’s making $10.3 million this season and has a $10.3 million non-guaranteed option in 2023-24.</p>
<p>The Knicks have been linked to Jae Crowder, too. He hasn’t played in a game for the Suns this season because he wasn’t given the extension that he wanted. Crowder is making $10.2 million this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.</p>
<p>You can just about bet that the front office has already planned to inquire about a couple of players if they haven’t done so already.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Something that's worked in the past </a>
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<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-138437" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2023%2F01%2F1457597990.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Julius Randle" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/01/1457597990.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/01/1457597990-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Julius Randle, New York Knicks. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>2: Deploy a Julius Randle-Obi Toppin frontcourt more</h3>
<p>When Mitchell Robinson injured his knee against the Sixers on Nov. 4, Tom Thibodeau gave in to finally deploying an<a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/05/tom-thibodeau-julius-randle-obi-toppin-desperation-plays-favor/"> Obi Toppin-Julius Randle lineup</a> because Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid. It’s something that worked in the Knicks’ favor as they pulled out the 106-104 win. Toppin and Randle played together for 10 minutes and during that span, New York outscored Philadelphia, 29-15.</p>
<p>It also worked well for the Knicks when they took on a Nuggets team without Nikola Jokic on Nov. 16. New York was down by 10 when Thibodeau decided to put Randle and Toppin on the floor together, and from there, the Knicks outscored the Nuggets, 20-7, to go on to win, 106-103.</p>
<p>After being hesitant to play Randle and Toppin together last season, Thibodeau said on <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://theathletic.com/3906547/2022/11/17/julius-randle-obi-toppin-knicks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">playing the two together</a> (subscription required), “I like it. There’s been ups and downs with it, but that’s probably more our team. The Philly game obviously was very good. We’ll continue to get a look at it.”</p>
<p>If the Knicks find themselves down late in their stretch of upcoming games, or if an opposing smaller lineup is out on the floor, Thibodeau needs to go back to the Randle-Toppin lineup that has seen success this season. After all, Thibodeau did say after the loss to the Wizards that Randle could play minutes at center in Robinson’s absence.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> What all fans should want to see </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-138438" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2135,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2023%2F01%2F1245958672.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Jericho Sims" width="3200" height="2135" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/01/1245958672.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/01/1245958672-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Jericho Sims, New York Knicks. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>1: Give Jericho Sims more minutes than Isaiah Hartenstein</h3>
<p>There is no good thing about Mitchell Robinson being injured, but at least Knicks fans can look forward to seeing more of Jericho Sims. The 24-year-old hasn’t seen a lot of time on the court recently, but once Robinson exited Wednesday’s game against the Wizards, Sims played for the first time since Jan. 6.</p>
<p>Simply put, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/14/knicks-regret-signing-isaiah-hartenstein-free-agency/">Isaiah Hartenstein struggles</a> with rim protection and rebounding. He has offensive capabilities that Sims and Robinson don’t have, but that isn’t something that Thibodeau seems to be interested in. The coach likes his traditional centers and Sims fits that mold far better than Hartenstein.</p>
<p>It would be nice to see Sims take Robinson’s spot in the starting lineup, but when Robinson was out with a sprained knee in November, Hartenstein started six games while Sims only started two. After the game against Washington, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/20/3-things-knicks-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-news-sims-hartenstein/"https://www.sny.tv/articles/knicks-rotation-mitchell-robinson-injury-center-thibodeau" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thibodeau said</a>, “Both guys have gone back-and-forth. We’ll get a chance to look at it deeper and make a decision.”</p>
<p>Looking ahead to matchups against big men such as Jarrett Allen and Robert Williams, it would be far more beneficial for New York to give Sims minutes over Hartenstein. Sims had his two-way contract converted over the summer to a three-year, $6 million standard deal. The Knicks should get more than their money’s worth from him in their upcoming tough stretch.</p>
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