New York Knicks: Mitchell Robinson Injury Is Massive Blow

New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson was key in the team’s first-round victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. He played a major role in slowing down Joel Embiid when the two matched up against each other, as his size and physicality were a lot to deal with.

Unfortunately for the New York Knicks, that presence in the middle of their lineup is going to be gone. On Tuesday, it was announced that Mitchell Robinson was going to be sidelined for Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers because of an issue with his ankle. 

The injury was much worse than originally shared. Not only is he going to miss Game 2, but Robinson will likely be missing the remainder of the postseason. He has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left ankle and will be out for 6-8 weeks.

This is a brutal blow to the New York Knicks. With Robinson in the lineup, head coach Tom Thibodeau knew he was going to get 48 minutes of elite defense, rim protection and offensive rebounding between him and Isaiah Hartenstein.

With Robinson out, the Knicks will have to turn elsewhere. Next man up has been their mantra all season as they have dealt with a multitude of injuries. This time, it will likely be Precious Achiuwa regaining a major part of the rotation and we could see Jerico Sims in some situations as well.

It is impossible not to feel bad for Mitchell Robinson. His left ankle was re-injured because of a dirty play in Game 3 against the 76ers by Joel Embiid, who grabbed Robinson’s right ankle after he went up for a dunk. On replays, you can see Robinson unable to put any pressure on his left ankle despite the right one being what Embiid grabbed.

Despite that, he gave the New York Knicks everything he had. Returning early from surgery on the same left ankle to help them at the end of the season was commendable. He was visibly hampered and not 100 percent, but was still able to make an impact.