Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson Misses Practice, Questionable for Game 4

Highlights

Mitchell Robinson’s ankle injury continues to hamper his performance, raising concerns for Game 4.
Precious Achiuwa stepped up defensively in Robinson’s absence, but the Knicks need Robinson’s shot-blocking.
Donte DiVincenzo trusts teammates to step up in Robinson’s potential absence, reflecting a next man up mentality.

Since returning for ankle surgery on March 28, Mitchell Robinson has been playing limited minutes for the New York Knicks down the stretch of the regular season. However, in Game 1 of the first round, Robinson played 30 minutes in the crucial win for the Knicks over the Philadelphia 76ers where he logged eight points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and four blocks.

That ankle has been bothering him all series long to the point where he was even questionable for Game 3 because of injury management. He ended up playing, but not well, as he played just 12 minutes with two points and seven rebounds. The main reason he also played just 12 minutes was due to Joel Embiid re-injuring Robinson’s ankle late in the first quarter when he grabbed and pulled Robinson by the surgically repaired ankle. Embiid was somehow only called for a Flagrant 1 as opposed to a Flagrant 2.

Robinson was absent from practice on Saturday, as Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned. Thibodeau hopes Robinson will be healthy enough on Sunday for Game 4, as well as every Knicks fan and the rest of the team.

In the Game 3 loss, Precious Achiuwa got his first minutes as a Knick in the postseason, where he logged four points in ten minutes. However, he was effective as a defender as he held 76ers players to 2-8 from the field while being the primary defender. Even though Achiuwa was good defensively, Robinson’s presence was much needed, especially for his shot blocking abilities as well as his rebounding skills, especially on the offensive end.

Next Man Up Mentality

Donte DiVincenzo trusts the other bigs on the roster

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Donte DiVincenzo spoke with Knicks reporter Ian Begley and mentioned that he hopes and expects Robinson to play. He also mentioned it has been this way all year as the Knicks earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference while Robinson missed 50 plus games.

“First and foremost, I hope we have Mitch. I expect Mitch to play. But if he doesn’t, it’s been like that all year. You have Precious (Achuiwa), you have Jericho (Sims), those guys have been ready all season long.

So, you know, it’s the next man up mentality and we’ve earned the two seed with Mitch missing 50 plus games. So I expect him to play. I hope he plays and if he doesn’t, we know the next man up.”

DiVincenzo has stepped up big in his career year with the Knicks as he not only shot lights out from three, where he was third in the league in three-point shooting, but he also has been a great locker room guy. After that quote, you can tell he has faith in his teammates, even with Robinson potentially out, he has faith in his teammates and the next man up mentality.

“It can’t be a pity party for anyone no matter what’s going on because no one’s gonna care.”

It will be interesting to see if Robinson does suit up and play, as his health is important for the whole series. Also, the Knicks currently have the advantage in the series as they are up 2-1. On the other hand, his absence from practice, could just be precautionary to give him some much-needed rest and the day off to preserve some energy for Sunday.