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Tim BontempsESPN
New York Knicks centerman Mitchell Robinson fractured his right hand during the 109-91 victory over the Wizards in Washington, DC on Friday night
Robinson was dominant in the first half, finishing with 10 points, 14 rebounds, an assist and two steals while doing 5-6 on the field in 20 minutes of action. Knicks striker Julius Randle said after the game that Robinson was injured at the 3:24 mark in the second half, when Robinson went up to try to contest a shot by Wizards striker Rui Hachimura and hit Randle’s elbow with his hand.
“Yes, it was probably the best half of the year for him,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after the game. “And obviously, we know how important he is to the team. Whenever someone gets hurt, you certainly feel for him.”
With Robinson out, the Knicks will fill the spot with Nerlens Noel, who had four points, four rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes on Friday, and veteran Taj Gibson, who had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
It is unclear how much time Robinson will lose, but Thibodeau said the team will know more after Robinson meets the team’s doctors on Saturday in New York.
“We feel sorry for him, but we have to prepare for the next one and, as you know, the game continues,” said Thibodeau. “I thought Nerlens replaced him in the second half, and that’s the great value of having a guy like Taj in the squad.”
Robinson, 22, entered Friday’s game with an average of 8.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in a career record of 29.6 minutes per game for the Knicks, having established himself as the starting center of the team. After Noel started in the preseason, Thibodeau made Robinson the starter to start the season, and he started all 27 games that the Knicks played towards the 12-15 record.
The Knicks have an option in Robinson’s contract for the 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 a restricted agent free player after this season.
In addition to Noel and Gibson, Thibodeau said the team could be smaller. He highlighted newcomer Obi Toppin, who had eight points and three rebounds when he hit 4 out of 5 on the field on Friday night, as a potential option.
When asked whether he thinks the Knicks would need to leave the organization to fill the void left by Robinson’s injury, Thibodeau said he thinks the team’s existing talent is good enough.
“We will have some flexibility,” said Thibodeau. “We can play smaller. I like what Taj gives us. Obviously, the great value in the things that Mitch brought to the team is the defensive component. Nerlens does many of those same things extremely well and, of course, Taj, that is his strong point throughout your career.
“I don’t want to miss that part, but I like the way Obi is coming, he is giving us good minutes. We could downsize and play with Kevin [Knox] at four, we could play Julius at five.
“I like the versatility of the team, but whenever 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 move forward.”