Mitch Rob To Miss At Least Two Months

Assuming the Knicks consider trading for a backup big, here are some names to keep an eye on...

Eyebrows were first raised during Friday's loss to the Celtics when Mitchell Robinson reportedly entered the X-ray room at halftime and missed the start of the third quarter. However, Robinson returned to the bench and entered the game a few minutes later.

He sat out the fourth quarter, but Tom Thibodeau said the X-rays on the ankle were negative and that Mitch Rob didn't re-enter the game over the final 12 minutes because the reserves were making a run. After the contest, Robinson downplayed the severity of the injury as well.

Yet, on Monday afternoon, the Knicks dropped the bombshell news: Mitchell Robinson will have left ankle surgery this week at the Hospital for Special Surgery, the team announced via Twitter, adding he would be re-evaluated in 8-10 weeks.

It's hard to overstate Robinson's impact on this team this season. His consistent contributions on a nightly basis have been essential to the Knicks' success. Not only was Mitch Rob re-establishing himself as the league's best offensive rebounder, but he also led New York in blocks and steals while making a serious case for some Defensive Player of the Year love a quarter of the way through the season.

And while today's news bummed out Knicks players, coaches and fans, let's not forget how hard it must have been for Mitch Rob to hear. Shortly after the report broke, Robinson took to social media. "Been battling stuff my whole life; some days I feel like I take 10 steps ahead, and others feel like I took 20 steps back; even when I do what I'm supposed to god throws these battles at me that feel like they're unbeatable no matter what I do," he wrote on Snapchat. "I know I shouldn't be letting this stuff get to my mental but over time it just takes over."

Ugh, it's tough to read. Hang in there, Mitch.

As for how the team will respond, fortunately, the Knicks have solid depth at center. Isaiah Hartenstein will handle most minutes in the middle, and Jericho Sims will be asked to step into the rotation and play his best basketball as a pro.

While the immediate thoughts of most Knicks fans likely centered on how losing Mitch Rob would be devastating on the defensive end, Robinson's work on the offensive glass was also critical in getting the Knicks extra possessions - which covered up their inefficiencies on offense.

With the Knicks about to embark on one of the most challenging stretches of the season, this is brutal news at the start of a difficult portion of the schedule.

Because iHart is less impactful than Robinson on the defensive end, New York must compensate for Mitch Rob's absence by accentuating Hartenstein's strengths. That means giving iHart plenty of touches at the top of the key and allowing him to facilitate the offense from the high post occasionally. Hartenstein was one of the league's best-passing bigs during his days in Los Angeles.

During the 2021-22 season, Hartenstein’s assist rate of 19.3% ranked fourth behind all qualified centers, trailing only Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid and Domantas Sabonis. Hartenstein averaged a whopping 4.7 assists per-36 minutes. The only other players to average more than 4.5 dimes to go along with at least nine rebounds and one steal per-36 mins that season were Draymond Green, Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steven Adams and Luka Dončić. Among those six players, Hartenstein was the only one to average more than two blocks/36.