Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Mitchell Robinson, backup center for the Knicks, is listed as questionable for Game 1 due to a recent hand injury.
- The Knicks have practiced with him and believes he could still contribute valuable minutes despite limited postseason usage.
- If the Robinson sits, his roster spot would go to a second-year big with minimal playoff experience — Ariel Hukporti.
The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs have battled their way to the NBA Finals and both have had to survive plenty of injuries to get there. OG Anunoby missed the final two games of the second-round with a hamstring injury, as the Knicks closed out the 76ers. Victor Wembanyama missed a first-round game in the concussion protocol and De'Aaron Fox has missed two games for the Spurs with a lingering ankle injury.
Despite all that, both teams arrive in the Finals pretty healthy. The Spurs injury report is completely clean, while Mitchell Robinson is the only player mentioned for the Knicks, with a pinky injury he sustained sometime after the Knicks closed out the Cavaliers.
Mitchell Robinson is questionable for Game 1 of the NBA Finals
The Knicks haven't said how Robinson fractured his pinky but he's practiced since sustaining it and given his role as a non-shooter, it seems likely he could play. He could be a very important piece for the Knicks, with his offensive rebounding and his size to throw at Wembanyama. But he's only been playing about 14 minutes per game during the postseason anyway and there's a good chance that OG Anunoby is the primary Wemby defender.
All that is to say, things are easier if Robinson is able to give them a few minutes of energy and physicality. But the Knicks can survive with a hampered version of him, or evern without him playing at all.
Projected Knicks starting lineup without Mitchell Robinson in Game 1
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Jalen Brunson | PG | Miles McBride |
Josh Hart | SG | Landry Shamet |
Mikal Bridges | SF | Jordan Clarkson |
OG Anunoby | PF | Ariel Hukporti |
Karl-Anthony Towns | C | Ariel Hukporti |
The Knicks are pretty thin in the frontcourt and if Robinson can't go and they need another big, those minutes will likely fall to second-year center Ariel Hukporti. He doesn't have a ton of experience and has only played 70 postseason minutes of mostly garbage time this year, but did put up 15.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes.
The good news for the Knicks is that Wembanyama is only been playing about 32 minutes per game and his backup, Luke Kornet isn't exactly a postscoring threat. The Spurs don't really have a true 4 and often use physical wings like Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes at that position. Even if Mitchell can't go and the Knicks don't feel comfortable with Hukporti, they can likely stagger the minutes for Towns and Anunoby to line up completely with Wemby and survive — maybe even thrive? — going extremely small when he's off the floor.
The one potential wrinkle here is Robinson's catastrophically bad free-throw shooting. He only hit 40.8 percent from the line this year and may be even worse with a wrap on his injured shooting hand. If the Knicks do use him, he's an obvious candidate for some hack-a-guy possessions and the Spurs could theoretically just force him off the floor that way.
If the Knicks do hold Robinson out, he'll have a few more days to rest and recover with Game 2 scheduled for Friday night.
More NBA news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google