-
Tim BontempsESPN
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson suffered a fractured right hand during Friday night’s 109-91 victory over the Wizards in Washington, DC
Robinson was dominant in the first half, finishing with 10 points, 14 rebounds, an assist and two steals as he went 5-6 from the field in 20 minutes of action. Knicks striker Julius Randle said after the game that Robinson was injured at 3:24 of the second quarter, when Robinson came up to try to play a shot from Wizards striker Rui Hachimura and hit his hand on the elbow of Randle.
“Yeah, it was probably the best half of the year for him,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “And obviously we know how important he is to the team. Whenever someone gets hurt, he sure feels for him.”
With Robinson out, the Knicks will fill the gap with Nerlens Noel, who scored four points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in 16 minutes on Friday, and veteran Taj Gibson, who had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
It’s unclear how long Robinson will miss, but Thibodeau said the team will know more after Robinson meets with the team’s doctors on Saturday in New York.
“We’re sorry for him, but we have to prepare for the next one, and as you know, the game keeps coming,” Thibodeau said. “I thought Nerlens stepped in for him in the second half, and that’s the great value of having a guy like Taj on the list.”
Robinson, 22, entered Friday’s game averaging 8.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in a maximum of 29.6 minutes per game for the Knicks. is consolidated as the initial center of the team. After Noel started the preseason, Thibodeau turned Robinson into the starter to start the season and has started all 27 games the Knicks have played on the way to a 12-15 record.
The Knicks have an option on Robinson’s contract for next season that they can exercise, keeping him under contract for $ 1.8 million, which would make him an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season. or decline, which would make him an agent after this season.
In addition to Noel and Gibson, Thibodeau said the team could shrink. He noted rookie Obi Toppin, who had eight points and three rebounds as he left the field 4 for 5 on Friday night, as a potential option.
When asked if he thought the Knicks should leave the organization to fill the void left by Robinson’s injury, Thibodeau said he believes the team’s existing talent is good enough.
“We’ll have some flexibility,” Thibodeau said. “We can play smaller. I like what Taj gives us. Viously, obviously the great value in the things that Mitch brought to the team is the defensive component. Nerlens does a lot of these things very well and of course Taj, this has been his strength throughout his career.
“I don’t want to lose this piece, but I like the way Obi comes, he gives us good minutes. We could reduce the size and play Kevin [Knox] at four, we could play Julius at five.
“I like the versatility of the team, but every time you lose a player of Mitch’s caliber we have to keep playing hard. You don’t replace a player like that individually, you have to do it collectively and step up.”