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Tim BontempsESPN
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson suffered a broken right hand during the 109-91 victory over the Wizards in Washington, DC on Friday night
Robinson was dominant in the first half and finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds, an assist and two steals while being off the field 5-for-6 in 20 minutes of action. Knicks forward Julius Randle said after the game Robinson was injured at the 3:24 mark in the second quarter, when Robinson went up to dare a shot from Wizards’ Rui Hachimura and his hand against Randle’s elbow hit.
“Yeah, it was probably the best half of the year for him,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “And of course we know how important he is to the team. Every time someone gets hurt, you definitely feel for him.”
With Robinson out, the Knicks will fill the gap with Nerlens Noel, who had four points, four rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes on Friday, and veteran Taj Gibson, who had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
It is unclear how much time Robinson will miss, but Thibodeau said the team will know more after Robinson met with the team’s doctors in New York on Saturday.
“We feel for him, but we have to get ready for the next one, and as you know, the game will keep coming,” Thibodeau said. “I thought Nerlens joined him in the second half, and it’s the great value of having a guy like Taj in the rankings.”
Robinson (22) entered Friday’s game with an average of 8.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in a career high of 29.6 minutes per game for the Knicks, after establishing himself as the starting center of the team entrenched. After Noel started in the preseason, Thibodeau made Robinson the frontrunner to start the season, and he started all 27 games the Knicks played on his way to a 12-15 record.
The Knicks have an option on Robinson’s contract for next season that they can train, to keep him under contract for $ 1.8 million, which will make him an unlimited free agent after the 2021-22 season, or decrease , which made him a limited free agent after this season.
In addition to Noel and Gibson, Thibodeau said the team could get smaller. He singled out rookie Obi Toppin, who had eight points and three rebounds while 4-for-5 off the field on Friday night, as a possible option.
Asked if he thinks the Knicks will have to go outside the organization to fill the void left by Robinson’s injury, Thibodeau said he thinks the team’s existing talent is good enough.
“We have some flexibility,” Thibodeau said. “We can play smaller. I like what Taj gives us. It’s clear that the great value in the things Mitch has brought to the team is the defensive component. Nerlens does a lot of things very well, and of course, Taj , it was his strong point throughout his career.
‘I do not want to lose the piece of it, but I like the way Obi arrives, he gives us good minutes. We can reduce and Kevin plays [Knox] at four we could play Julius on the five.
“I like the versatility of the team, but every time you lose a player of Mitch’s caliber, we have to keep playing hard. You do not replace such a player separately, you have to do it and act together.”