Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who was rumored to be lost for the season after undergoing ankle surgery in December, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
“It wasn’t an extended (practice) obviously. But he did shooting. He did offense, defense, script,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. Asked when Robinson might be approved for game action, Thibodeau responded, “He’s got to go through contact for a while. So then he’s got to get cleared by the doctor.”
Robinson has missed 47 games since being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left ankle. The Knicks applied for a $7.8MM disabled player exception, but that request was turned down in January because an independent physician wasn’t convinced that Robinson would be unavailable for the rest of the season.
Thibodeau said Isaiah Hartenstein will remain the starting center even when Robinson is cleared to return. Hartenstein is dealing with a sore Achilles and is currently playing under a minutes restriction.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers will be an “eager” suitor for Paul George this summer if he can’t agree on an extension with the Clippers, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required). League sources tell Stein that signing George would be an ideal way for Philadelphia to use its considerable cap space before giving a max extension to Tyrese Maxey. Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (video link) also indicates that the Sixers are keeping their eyes on George, who has a $48.8MM player option for next season.
- Immanuel Quickley is away from the Raptors on a personal/family matter and there’s no timetable for him to return, coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters before tonight’s game (Twitter link from Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports). Bruce Brown will handle the ball more often while Quickley is gone, Rajakovic added.
- Eric Koreen and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic discuss whether the Raptors would be better off giving their first-round pick to San Antonio this year or waiting until 2025 or 2026. The pick is top-six protected, and Toronto is currently seventh in the reverse standings, a half-game away from sixth-place Memphis.
- Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla tried to block a shot by Phoenix forward Royce O’Neale after a timeout last week, but he’s been instructed to retire the lighthearted gesture, relays Brian Robb of MassLive. “I’ve been told I can’t do that anymore,” Mazzulla said during an appearance on a radio show, but he declined to say who made that request.
Great news on Mitch. I think (approved for contact sounds good anyway).
I hope the name of the person that told Mazzulla not to block practice shots during timeouts gets revealed.
Hartenstein is way better than Robinson, of course he must keep the starting job!!!
“But he did shooting.”
The most shocking part of this story is not that Mitch might be back soon, it’s that he actually practices his shooting.
Mitch is overpaid. I said this before. He can’t stay health and hasn’t expanded his game.
He blocks, plays great defense, and rebounds with dunks on the offensive end. He’s in the ballpark for what he gets paid. And his offensive rebounding is what has made the Knicks dangerous. Second attempts.
Playoffs playoffs playoffs. We need everyone for that. Good news.