Injured center Mitchell Robinson cannot even guess when he will return to the Knicks. He realizes that he needs to be patient.
In his first comments since breaking his right hand during a game on February 12 in Washington, Robinson sounded like he was at least coming after surgery last week to repair the fracture.
The Knicks did not give a timetable for his return other than to say that he will be reevaluated after the All-Star break, around March 10.
“I feel great, I feel incredible,” said Robinson on Saturday via Zoom. “Basically what I’m doing now is making the bike, running here and there. I am following the team’s training to keep me updated if anything is added. So I’m focused on that and getting in shape. ”
The question is whether coach Tom Thibodeau will tamper with Robinson’s vacuum. Mainly, in the first two games without Robinson, Thibodeau used Nerlens Noel as a starting center and Taj Gibson as a substitute.
According to sources, Thibodeau spent three days of practice trying to mix and match. One thing he investigated was playing more small ball, moving Julius Randle to the center and using newbie Obi Toppin in the attack.
Thibodeau is also debating whether to return Kevin Knox to power forward rotation, using him with Randle in the center. Knox was removed from the rotation on January 31 against the Clippers – 10 games ago. Knox, the Knicks 2018 lottery pick, made three cameo appearances at the time of that time, playing a total of nine minutes.
The Knicks were an offensive disaster in the second half on Wednesday in Orlando, losing 15 consecutive shots and accumulating just 33 points after the break in the 107-89 loss. Knox’s 3-point shot could be useful, as he was hitting them with the best career drop of 37.9%.
Meanwhile, Knicks’ 2020 lottery pick Toppin is battling Magic (29.7 percent) and seemed hesitant while playing just 11 minutes against Magic.
Sources said the Knicks want to stay in the center for now. In fact, the Knicks let young Westchester Knicks center Justin Patton, choice number 16 of the 2017 draft, to sign a bilateral deal with the Rockets on Friday. Patton, 23, played under Thibodeau in Minnesota.
Robinson, using a tape-bonded device, does not mark the date of his return, but the end of March looks reasonable.
“I’m really waiting,” said Robinson. “I’m leaving it to them. I will wait patiently. I’m going to let the doctors take care of that and the coaches prove to be specialized in that area. I’ll stay in shape. ”