Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith, right, gets his hand on New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Mitchell Robinson left Wednesday’s Knicks game against the Wizards with a thumb injury and will not return.
Status alert: Mitchell Robinson (thumb) won’t return Wednesday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) January 19, 2023
The injury is being called a sprain on his shooting hand, which might suggest that Robinson will miss a couple of games. However, it’s too soon to know that for sure now. What we do know is that losing Robinson is a big blow for the Knicks’ defense.
The fifth-year pro has been essential as a rim protector for New York. According to Crafted NBA, he has a 98th-percentile block rate, 73rd-percentile defensive rebounding rate, and 73rd-percentile deflection rate. He’s defensive plus/minus according to Crafted NBA is also in the 92nd percentile, and Robinson has stepped his game up even more recently, averaging 2.7 blocks and 2.3 steals per game over his last three.
In his absence, Jericho Sims will be inserted back into the rotation for the first time since Obi Toppin returned. In seven first-half minutes against the Wizards, Sims totaled three rebounds, two assists, and a block but he did also pick up two fouls. His athleticism and perimeter defense make him potentially a better fit for extra minutes than Isaiah Hartenstein, but we’ll have to wait and see how head coach Tom Thibodeau doles out the minutes.
For now, the Knicks will just hope that the injury to their big man is not of a serious nature.
This is a developing story, and we will update it as we get more information.
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