The Knicks are managing injuries to key players as the start of the season approaches
As a precaution, the Knicks will play without it Josh Hart (Backwards), Mitchel Robinson (workload management), City of Karl-Anthony (quadrilateral) e OG Anunoby (ankle) in the preseason finale against the Hornets on Friday night.
Robinson was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday due to workload management.
"Whenever you guys are missing, it’s the next guy’s turn to step up" Head coach of the Knicks Mike Brown said before the match. "Knock on wood, we might be missing guys during the season. It’s just another opportunity for guys to step up and get a chance to play. We’ll go out and try to win the game with whoever we have available tonight."
Due to his injury history, New York expects to handle Robinson’s workload for the foreseeable future. That means he will miss games during the regular season when healthy.
Robinson has been dealing with some soreness in the preseason. Perhaps the Knicks keep him on Friday for precautionary reasons ahead of the regular season. (It would be a surprise if the Knicks’ workload management plan prevented Robinson from playing in Wednesday’s season opener.)
ESPN NBA analyst Richard Jefferson sees Robinson as a key to this Knicks season.
“Look at Mitchell Robinson; how healthy is he going to be? What is their depth? Especially when you look at what’s coming out of the West. Most likely what’s coming out of the West is going to be a team with at least two or maybe three big bigs,” Jefferson said on a conference call Thursday to preview the NBA season.
“Mitchell Robinson has to be healthy. If he’s not healthy and Karl-Anthony Towns is your main big and you’re going to try to win a championship against all these bigs floating around… if he’s not healthy during the season, they’re going to have problems in my opinion.”
Jefferson would also like to see the Knicks’ offense a little more balanced this season Mike Brown. He believes it will pay dividends in the postseason.
“I’m talking about a fraction (of a change in attack). I like the ball inside Jalen Brunson“He’s the type of player who can do it all,” Jefferson said. “But just a little more balance can take the pressure off him. That’s what I think will allow him to break out a little more. You don’t want him working that hard, especially if you’re going to play until June. Because that’s a different monster.”
"Playing the whole season takes a special player. Playing a couple of rounds in the playoffs, as a protagonist, is another level. Play until the finals? If you have to do it, it’s very, very difficult. So also taking that pressure off a little bit… I think it will help because the minutes will go down during the regular season because of the coaching change.”
Fellow ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler will be watching New York’s pick-and-roll defense closely throughout the season.
Legler said Wednesday that the Knicks “have to be a lot better defensively than they have been in blocking the ball. That was a big problem for them a year ago. They can get physical with (OG) Anunoby and (Mikal) Bridges and the things about the wings, the way they can defend one-on-one.
“But their ability to defend ball screens will be tested every night. They have to figure out how to defend them. Because they took advantage of it a year ago, everyone knew about it, they attacked it.”
Both Legler and Jefferson agree that the health of the Knicks in the postseason is incredibly important. The same can be said for every team. But the Knicks need a healthy Robinson in high-stakes playoff games. Without Robinson, the club cannot play its double lineup and would presumably ask Towns to play center.
“The talent is there, the opportunity is there. The Knicks should be thinking ‘get to the Finals,'” Legler said. “Anything outside of that this year should be a disappointment for the New York Knicks, that’s how they should look at it because of what awaits them in the Eastern Conference.”