Sometime later this season, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson will take the court together and provide the Knicks with a formidable front court tandem. For now, Towns will have to be the Knicks’ only true center and power forward to consistently receive significant minutes as Robinson and Precious Achiuwa recover from off-season injuries.
Robinson, who has started 196 of the 320 games he has played in his seven-year career, all with the Knicks, has not suited up since last May 6 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Indiana Pacers, due to a stress fracture in his left ankle. He underwent surgery on May 13 to repair the injury and isn’t expected to return until after the new calendar year.
It’s the same issue that kept him out for 50 games beginning last December, when the 26-year-old 2018 second round pick had surgery on the ankle and then re-injured it in Game 3 of the opening round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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In a livestream video two weeks ago, Robinson was adamant that he will be cautious in his timeline to rejoin the team.
“You [saw] what happened when I rushed back to come back?” he said. “I was back out … but we’re going to be good … Promise you, we’re going to be straight.”
Achiuwa strained his left hamstring in the preseason. Going into the Knicks’ road game versus the Atlanta Hawks last night (Wednesday), the last of four straight games away from home, he had missed their first six. Yet the team is hopeful he’ll be back in the rotation within the next week. The Knicks were 3-3 before facing the Hawks and will be back at Madison Square Garden tomorrow to host the Milwaukee Bucks.
The team felt the absence of Robinson and Achiuwa on Wednesday when the Houston Rockets’ rising 22-year-old center Alperen Sengun, who is on the cusp of being an All-Star, hung 25 points and 14 rebounds on them. Towns had another forceful performance, countering Sengun with 17 points and 19 rebounds in 32 minutes. With Jericho Sims yet to establish himself as a consistently viable contributor, though, Towns hasn’t received the requisite help in the middle.
Forward OG Anunoby, one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league, has played the power forward and center positions for head coach Tom Thibodeau, but at 6’7”, he’s frequently at a height disadvantage in those spots.
The Knicks will be on the road again to play the Indiana Pacers on Sunday and the 76ers on Tuesday before returning to MSG next Wednesday to take on the Chicago Bulls.