Well, the Knicks have reached their first crisis point of the season, and it couldn’t possibly come at a less opportune time. Mitchell Robinson is going to miss the next eight to 10 weeks of the season, at a time when the next month was already going to be a harsh crucible for the Knicks.
Now they’ll do so without Robinson, who probably wouldn’t make the top 3 for most people if you were picking the Knicks’ most valuable player, but would be considered by Robinson’s coaches and his teammates to be their most essential player.
As Tom Thibodeau said earlier this season: “I think to his teammates, the people in our organization, there’s a great appreciation because oftentimes, there’s not really a stat for that, and it’s so vital to the team. [Robinson] is what make everything go.
“So the rim protection, and then offensively the screening, and then rolling to the rim, force the defense to collapse. That’s unselfishness. And when you do that, you’re making a commitment to the team. So I know his teammates appreciate him, and certainly the coaches and our entire organization, front office. He has great value.”
Now the Knicks need to replace Robinson and his surgically repaired ankle for up to 10 weeks and for as many as 34 or 35 games. Nobody weeps for them (besides Knicks fans) because nobody ever weeps for the injured in professional sports, it’s a cruel business that way. But it is fair to wonder just what the Knicks have in store for themselves between now and late February, which seems like the best-case hope for them.
They will hope that Jericho Sims and Isaiah Hartenstein, both of whom are capable and both of whom will need to be a little bit more than capable over the next 2 ½ months. But neither projects to be what Robinson is, and for a Knicks team coming off back-to-back games in which they surrendered a total of 279 points heading into Monday night’s game with the Raptors, it puts an added burden on a defense that was already leaking oil.
“Been battling stuff my whole life; some days I feel like I take 10 steps ahead, and others feel like I took 20 steps back,” Robinson wrote on Snapchat Monday. “Even when I do what I’m supposed to God throws these battles at me that feel like they’re unbeatable no matter what I do.”
It has to be devastating to Robinson, who has developed into an elite defensive player but who’s major hurdle — well, besides his grim free-throw shooting — has always been an ability to stay on the floor. He’s already missed 95 games in five-plus years.
“I have to have confidence that I can stay healthy because I know how much my team counts on me to stay on the court,” Robinson said during training camp. “The team has to be able to rely on me.”
The Knicks managed to survive without Robinson last year, going 12-11 in the 23 games he didn’t play. Their mantra is of the “next-man-up” variety, and last year they were able to do that well, no matter who they were missing.
This year that credo has been tested some thanks to some early-season absences from one of their core players, R.J. Barrett. The Knicks were 2-3 without Barrett.
The combination of how vital Robinson is to their defensive scheme coupled with the coming stretch of games, however, means they are going to have to fully embrace covering for Robinson. After Monday’s game against Toronto, which entered the night at 9-13, this is what they’re looking at through the New Year:
• A five-game road trip through Utah, Phoenix, LA (with games against both teams) and Brooklyn
• Back-to-back home games against the Bucks, who just dumped 146 points on them, including the Christmas Day showcase
• A killer trip to Oklahoma City, Orlando and Indiana
• Home for the 17-4 Timberwolves on New Year’s Day
A season could turn upside down going through that ringer, and the Knicks are bracing for it without their most imperative defense weapon. By the second of January, we’ll have an awfully good feel for where this is all going.
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