Forward Obi Toppin will be sidelined at least two-to-three weeks after sustaining a non-displaced fracture in his right fibula head, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).
Toppin suffered the injury in Wednesday’s victory over the Hawks, which led to an MRI earlier today. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report (Twitter link) that the 24-year-old would be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks.
Now in his third season, Toppin is averaging 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds on .421/.351/.824 shooting through 25 games (17.1 minutes per night). The Knicks are currently 12-13, the No. 9 seed in the East.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters, including Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), that RJ Barrett might be in line for minutes at power forward with Toppin out.
“I like the idea of RJ being there some. I think he showed us last year how effective he can be at the four, so I think that can be a possibility,” Thibodeau said.
Another possibility could be a double center pairing. Thibodeau experimented with using Jericho Sims and Isaiah Hartenstein together at times earlier in the 2022/23 season.
Barrett has the jump shot of a 4. When he plays there, it’s also true that Randle is off the floor.
I like Barrett, and always want guys like him on the team. But his extension was premature. Hard to price a perimeter player who’s not a natural shooter. I don’t understand the hesitancy around letting RSC’s go to term. This was a case where it looked like a no brainer.
IMO his ceiling has always been a third option on a good team.
That’s probably right. Can a third option be a star due to the rest of this game? That’s what he aspires to, and, unlike most young players, he actually backs it with a work ethic and a high basketball IQ. Wherever those can take him, he’ll get there.
Get well Obi1 …….
When will Randle get traded ????
Odd that they’re fine with moving RJ to PF to cover for Toppin’s absence when they don’t seem interested at all in moving him to SG to allow Toppin–who has been the team’s best three point option this season–to play SF. If they’re fine with moving RJ around, why not do it to allow more minutes for your 8th overall pick from a couple of years ago? You’re already not playing the opening day starter at SG (Fournier) any more.
Toppin has not been the team’s best three point option since October.
Does Reddish get more playing time because of this??
Not according to Thibs. He would rather rj cover the backup four while Obi is out. We can even put Sims as the backup pf.