The New York Knicks might be without their starting center until the NBA All-Star Break, with Mitchell Robinson out at least three weeks after having surgery Thursday to repair his broken right thumb. The latest Mitchell Robinson injury news comes with the Knicks having lost two in a row heading into their game Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
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New York is a 4-point road underdog at Atlanta, using the OddsShopper tools for the best NBA lines.
“Mitch is the anchor for our defense,” Knicks forward RJ Barrett told Yahoo. “Him going out is an adjustment for sure. … The rebounds, blocked shots, everything. Just the factor that people don’t want to go into the paint as much against him. You’re losing that big time, and all the offensive rebounds he gets. He’s a big part of our team.”
Robinson was injured Wednesday in a 116-105 loss at the Washington Wizards. Since Dec. 1, he has been averaging 29.4 minutes per game, compared to 22.7 per game before then. He missed eight games in early November with a sprained right knee.
His increase in minutes coincided with a new nine-man rotation and better play from New York, which is 15-9 since Dec. 1, including an eight-game winning streak and a run of seven wins in eight games before this two-game slide.
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Robinson leads the Knicks with 1.8 blocks per game and is second with 8.9 rebounds per game. According to SNY, entering play Wednesday, the Knicks had outscored opponents by 8.2 points per 100 possessions with Robinson on the court, and had been outscored by 1.2 points when he was not.
He could be replaced as the starter by Jericho Sims rather than Isaiah Hartenstein, who has been effective on the second unit, averaging 5.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 18.5 minutes. Sims is averaging 12.6 minutes, with 3.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
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The Knicks were 4-4 in the eight games Robinson missed in November. Hartenstein started six.
“I want to think it through in terms of what’s best for both groups (starters and reserves), what will make it function best,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau told SNY. “Both guys have gone back and forth. We’ll get a chance to look at it deeper and make a decision.”
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Thibodeau also said Randle could play center. The Knicks leading scorer (24.7) and rebounder (10.7) this season is at 27.0 ppg and 12.7 rpg since Dec. 1.
New York (25-21) entered Thursday tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference. The NBA All-Star Break is from Feb. 17-22.
