Longtime starting center Mitchell Robinson is back on the practice floor, according to head coach Tom Thibodeau, as the club gets ready for the last leg of a four-game road trip. Though not particularly intense, Robinson’s workout was recorded by Steve Popper of Newsday and marked his first time back on the court since he needed surgery for an ankle injury he suffered during a Dec. 8 loss to the Boston Celtics.
According to Popper’s story, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau stated, “Mitch was good.” He worked out today. He needs to spend some time in contact. So the doctor has to provide his clearance. Obviously, it wasn’t extended. Yet he handled script, offense, defense, and shooting. Hello there.
Although Robinson was initially thought to be out for the season, there was some optimism for his comeback when the NBA rejected the Knicks’ request for a disabled player exception, which would have allowed the team to recoup a portion of Robinson’s salary for the 2023–24 campaign.
The longest-tenured Knick might return by the end of the month, according to a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, but he won’t be back in time for Thursday’s game in Denver (9 p.m. ET, MSG). Thibodeau provided a rough schedule, beginning with the apparent: Robinson will not take on his typical workload right away. Before getting hurt, Robinson was playing a career-high 29.2 minutes per game in his most recent incarnation as the starting center for the Knicks.
“When he returns, he won’t play for long stretches of time. He will gradually get closer to that, Thibodeau stated. “After a prolonged injury or period of absence, I believe it takes a little while for a player to regain his timing. Doing it that way with less minutes probably makes more sense. We’ll watch to see what happens.
That’s all good with Robinson, who earlier this month stated in an Instagram post from a Knicks fan account that he’d be more than happy to come off the bench. Robinson’s starting five spot has been satisfactorily occupied by Isaiah Hartenstein, and the Knicks’ second unit would undoubtedly acquire a sense of formidableness with the addition of one of the few remaining traditional centers in the league, who is currently enjoying a career-best season (averaging 10.3 rebounds prior to his departure).
Even though Robinson’s replacements (Hartenstein, Precious Achuiwa, and Jericho Sims) have done a fantastic job filling in the holes since the holidays, it would be very great to have those skills and more back.
According to Popper’s article, Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson stated, “Toughness, obviously rebounding, finishing around the rim, blocking the rim, guarding the rim, those are things he’s been fantastic at his whole career.” “He just adds another piece to the table by bringing that up.”
