The Knicks may not have Josh Hart (back), Mitchell Robinson (workload management), Karl-Anthony Towns (quad) and OG Anunoby (ankle) for their preseason finale on Friday night.
Robinson was held out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday due to workload management.
Due to his injury history, New York plans to manage Robinson’s workload for the foreseeable future. That means he will miss games during the regular season when healthy.
Robinson has been dealing with some soreness in the preseason. Maybe the Knicks hold him out on Friday due to precautionary reasons ahead of the regular season. (It would be a surprise if the Knicks’ workload management plan kept Robinson from playing in Wednesday’s season opener).
ESPN NBA analyst Richard Jefferson sees Robinson as a key to this Knicks season.
“You look at Mitchell Robinson; how healthy is he going to be? What is their big depth? Especially when you look at what’s coming out of the West. Most likely what’s going to come out of the West is a team with at least two or possibly three very good bigs,” Jefferson said on a conference call Thursday to preview the NBA season.
“Mitchell Robinson has to be healthy. If he’s not healthy and Karl-Anthony Towns is your primary big and you’re going to try to win a championship against all of those bigs that are floating around… if he’s not healthy during the season, they’re going to have trouble in my opinion.”
Jefferson would also like to see the Knicks’ offense a bit more balanced this season under Mike Brown. He believes it will pay dividends in the postseason.
“I’m talking about a fraction (of a change to the offense). I like the ball in Jalen Brunson’s hands – he’s the type of player that can do all the things,” Jefferson said. “But just a little bit more balance can take pressure off of him. That’s what I think will allow him a little more burst. You don’t want him working as hard – especially if you’re planning on playing until June. Because that’s a different monster.
"Playing all season takes a special player. Playing a couple rounds in the playoffs, as the main guy, is another level. Playing all the way to the Finals? If you’re having to do that, that’s very very difficult. So even relieving some of that pressure …I think will help because they’re minutes will be down throughout the regular season because of the coaching change.”
Fellow ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler will be watching New York’s pick-and-roll defense closely throughout the season.
Legler said on Wednesday that the Knicks “need to be much better defensively than they’ve been in defending ball screens. That was a major problem from them a year ago. They can get physical with (OG) Anunoby and (Mikal) Bridges and things on the wings, the way they can guard one on one.
“But their ability to defend ball screens is going to be challenged every night. They’ve got to figure out how they defend that. Because they were taken advantage of a year ago, everybody knew that, they attacked it.”
Both Legler and Jefferson agree that the Knicks’ health in the postseason is incredibly important. You can say the same for every team. But the Knicks need a healthy Robinson in high-stakes playoff games. Without Robinson, the club can’t play its double big lineup and it would presumably ask Towns to play center.
“The talent is there, the opportunity is there. The Knicks should be thinking ‘Get to the Finals,’” Legler said. “Anything short of that this year should be a disappointment for the New York Knicks, that’s the way they should view it because of what’s in front of them in the Eastern Conference.”
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