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The New York Knicks have hit the ground running in their first year with Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup, racing out to a 31-16 record as the All-Star break quickly approaches. The Knicks have been able to find a blend that works so far this season despite playing without one of their most important players.
Center Mitchell Robinson has not played yet this season after undergoing ankle surgery before the season. Robinson has been progressing in his rehab, but the Knicks got a disheartening update on Wednesday. Robinson is running and jumping, but he is still not doing any contact drills at practice, according to Ian Begley of SNY.
Robinson has been aiming to come back in February, which is still definitely on the table. However, this update suggests that he is still a few weeks away at minimum.
The Knicks have been a good defensive team thanks to the identity and culture that Tom Thibodeau has established there combined with their deep crop of elite wing defenders such as OG Anunoby, Mikel Bridges and Josh Hart. However, Robinson would make them even better on that end thanks to his rebounding and shot blocking ability. Robinson is averaging nearly two blocks per game in his career despite playing just over 24 minutes per game.
Will Mitchell Robinson start next to Karl-Anthony Towns when he returns?
Tom Thibodeau has some tough decisions to make when Mitchell Robinson returns to the lineup, whenever that ends up being. Once Robinson is completely up to speed, Thibodeau can either decide to start him or bring him off the bench.
Starting Robinson alongside Towns would give the Knicks a monstrous front line that would make them very hard to score on and would allow them to dominate the glass. Towns would be comfortable with such a pairing after he spent the last few seasons playing the four in Minnesota alongside Rudy Gobert.
That move would likely push Josh Hart to the bench, something that Thibodeau has done in the past but may be reluctant to do again based on how Hart has played this season. If he wants to keep this effective starting lineup in tact, he could bring Robinson off the bench instead.
Bringing Robinson off the bench would help the reserve lineups survive on defense while some of those defensive aces on the wing are on the bench. Robinson can come in, play 20 or so minutes per game and protect the rim. Taking that route would also help the Knicks maintain the continuity that they will have built when Robinson comes back and is presumably playing on a minutes restriction while he gets back into playing shape.
