Getty

New York Must Prepare for Life Without a Fully Healthy Robinson

Mitchell Robinson’s right pinky injury has suddenly become one of the biggest storylines surrounding the New York Knicks’ run to the NBA Finals.

With the series opener now set and the Western Conference opponent still undecided, any hint about Robinson’s availability matters.

Ian Begley’s latest read suggests optimism, but the Knicks are still keeping the situation deliberately quiet for now.

The latest reporting says Robinson broke his right pinky finger earlier this week and has no timetable for a return.

As Begley put it: “Obviously, if you’re the Knicks, you want to be very tight-lipped about this. There’s no timetable for his return. But I do know that Robinson will push to play. Just in having conversations with people over the last couple hours. He’s going to push to play. He will want to play. It’s ultimately going to be up to the Knicks medical staff, but a player’s opinion does matter in these things, and so he’s going to want to be out there. Will he be out there? We should be able to know more about this in the coming days.” The SNY post summarizing the report also highlighted Begley’s line that Robinson will push to play.

There is also some optimism from the radio side. Tommy Lugauer has reportedly been hoping Mitch will be “good to go next Wednesday,” with the reasoning being that New York has had a lot of rest between games and Robinson already finished the game in which the issue surfaced.

That kind of timeline would fit the broader sense that the injury may be painful, but not necessarily catastrophic for the Finals.

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ first game of the NBA Finals will be held on June 3. Knicks will play against the winner of the Thunder-Spurs. The game is set at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Regarding Robinson’s role, the stats are the clearest indication of why the Knicks have to keep him ready to play. In the playoffs, his numbers have been 5.3 points, 5.5 rebounds per game in just 14.2 minutes with the highest percentage from the field in the league at 73.7% as a bench player.

This menacing defensive player combined with tough offensive rebounder and consistent scorer is the main reason why this injury hurts so much.

Though Robinson might not be at his best physically, still it will be a good idea for New York to have him on the court since changing shots, grabbing rebounds, and making second chances – these are his ways that lead Knicks to have different attacking options in a Finals ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌series.