Mitchell Robinson’s season may very well be over.
The Knicks ruled the backup big man out for Game 2 of their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday due to left ankle injury management.
Hours later, the team announced Robinson sustained a stress reaction to his surgically repaired left ankle and will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks.
Robinson underwent additional testing on his ankle Tuesday afternoon, according to league sources. He is not expected to undergo surgery and will spend the recovery period rehabbing his injury.
His earliest re-evaluation date falls one day after the scheduled June 17 Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Even if the Knicks were to advance past the Pacers in Round 2 and the conference-favorite Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, Robinson’s injury timeline makes a return this season a long shot.
Robinson took a “wrong step” in a Dec. 8 matchup against the Boston Celtics and shortly after underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle.
He returned on March 27 and played in 10 of the Knicks’ final 11 games but aggravated his ankle injury in a physical first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Robinson sprained his ankle in the first half of Game 3 in Philadelphia, missed the second half of the decisive loss, then left the arena in a walking boot and missed Game 4 due to the injury.
The seven-foot center known best for his ferocious rebounding and high-flying abilities was a minus-eight in 12 minutes off the bench in the Knicks’ 121-117 victory over the Pacers in Game 1 on Monday.
He finished with two points, two rebounds and three fouls in 12 minutes, clearly inhibited by a surgically repaired ankle under stress amid a deep Knicks playoff run.
Without Robinson, the Knicks will continue to lean heavily on starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, who played 36 minutes and finished with 13 points — including a buzzer-beating half-court heave entering halftime — to go with six rebounds and four assists in Game 1.
In Robinson’s absence, Precious Achiuwa is the next big man off the bench.
The Knicks acquired Achiuwa alongside OG Anunoby in the RJ Barrett-Immanuel Quickley trade with the Toronto Raptors.
He played four minutes against the Pacers in Game 1 and logged one point and one rebound.
The Knicks can also turn to high-flying third-year center Jericho Sims, but Sims has not seen action in the playoffs and has been largely out of the rotation since March 10.
Robinson led the NBA in offensive rebounding with 5.4 per game and averaged six points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game prior to his Dec. 8 injury. He averaged 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 10 games off the bench to close the regular season, then had a strong, eight-point, 12-rebound, four-block performance in Game 1 of the Knicks’ first-round series against the 76ers.
Robinson finished with two points, nine rebounds, two steals and one block in the decisive Game 6 victory over the 76ers, then was visibly limited in Game 1 against the Pacers on Monday, posting just two points, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes off the bench.
L2M REPORT
The NBA’s Last 2 Minutes (L2M) Report from Game 1 highlighted several missed or incorrect calls during a wild finish of a tight game.
The NBA determined officials missed an offensive foul call on Pacers center Myles Turner, who set an uncalled illegal screen on Donte DiVincenzo in the backcourt in the final 10 seconds of regulation.
The L2M Report also determined officials incorrectly whistled Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith for a kicked ball when he deflected the ball from the Knicks using his hand, not foot, with 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The report also confirmed a moving screen call whistled against Turner, who picked up an offensive foul for making illegal contact with DiVincenzo while setting a screen with less than 20 seconds left in the final period. The Pacers challenged the moving screen call and lost, and Turner expressed dissatisfaction with the call in the locker room after the game.
“Just in my experience in this league, I think it’s best when the players decide the outcome of the game. I think it’s unfortunate that it happened,” Turner said after the game. “We reviewed it, and they still called it an illegal screen, but it’s the playoffs. I felt like DiVincenzo did a good job of selling it and for the most part, you can’t leave the game to be decided by the refs.
“We have to take accountability as well. We knew at the end of the day that we can’t get to that position. … I think the Last Two Minutes, we’re all looking forward to that coming out.”
FAMILY TIES
All-Star guard Jalen Brunson said his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, has been the same encouraging influence in the playoffs as he’s been all his life.
“He’s had the same role, since I’ve met him [birth],” Brunson joked while speaking about his father after Knicks practice on Tuesday. “Since forever I guess really. He’s always encouraging. He tells me to pick it up. He tells me when to stay confident in myself. It’s been the same no matter what the situation is, and I just think it’s the playoffs now, so nothing really changes. So he’s had the same exact role, and it’s helped me a lot.”
