The latest on Mitchell Robinson's ankle injury after 'reckless' foul by Joel Embiid in Game 3
Forget about the refs, Jalen Brunson’s shooting or slowing down Tyrese Maxey.
Mitchell Robinson’s ankle is the biggest factor for the Knicks heading into a pivotal Game 4 against the 76ers.
Robinson couldn’t play in the second half of New York’s Game 3 loss to Philadelphia due to a left ankle sprain.
It’s unclear when Robinson injured the ankle.
But he landed awkwardly after Joel Embiid grabbed his right leg in midair at the 4:34 mark of the first quarter. The play infuriated the Knicks and led to a brief scuffle between the two teams. Embiid was issued a Flagrant 1.
Robinson stayed in the game and played nine more minutes in the first half but left the game with 3:17 to play in the second quarter when he was whistled for his third foul.
He was limping at the time, favoring his right ankle. The Knicks ruled him out for the rest of the game shortly thereafter.
“Hopefully he’s good,” Josh Hart said after the game. “But see how he feels tomorrow and go on from there. At the end of the day we can’t focus on that. We’ve just got to focus on who we have and focus on Game 4.”
Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein all took issue with Embiid grabbing Robinson in mid-air.
“We expect physicality. I think the grab that (Embiid) did on Mitch was dirty,” DiVincenzo said.
“That’s not a basketball play,” Hartenstein said.
“Mitch is what, 280?” Hart said. “You grab the guy by the leg when he’s jumping and you don’t allow him to come down, that’s something that -- just a sprained ankle would be a fortunate injury. That one was reckless. But luckily he wasn’t seriously injured and out for a long time.”
Robinson’s status for Sunday’s Game 4 is up in the air.
If the Knicks don’t have Robinson on Sunday, they will play either Precious Achiuwa or Jericho Sims at center off the bench.
Achiuwa played well in Robinson’s absence on Thursday.
But Embiid still finished the game with 50 points on 19 shots (5-for-7 on 3-point attempts, 19-for-21 on free throws).
The former MVP hit eight of his 11 shot attempts outside of 15 feet in Game 3, including four 3-pointers in the Sixers’ 43-point third quarter.
Embiid and the Sixers will have two days to practice/rest prior to Game 4. So you’d assume that the big man and his teammates will be fresh for tipoff on Sunday afternoon.
The extra rest will also benefit the Knicks. Robinson will have two days to treat his ankle before Game 4. His ankle was less than 100 percent healthy going into Game 3. He’d been listed as questionable going into that game due to left ankle injury maintenance.
Robinson tested the ankle at shootaround Thursday morning and was cleared to play. It’s the same ankle that Robinson needed surgery on earlier this season, sidelining him for more than four months.
Will Robinson be available on Sunday? That’s unknown at this point. For what it’s worth, Robinson’s teammates didn’t notice any difference in his demeanor in the locker room after Game 3.
“He was in his normal good mood,” Hartenstein said.
“He was doing well,” Miles McBride said.
Robinson left the arena in a walking boot. But that in and of itself doesn’t tell you anything definitive about his ankle.
Players frequently wear a walking boot when they sprain their ankle, regardless of the severity.
It’s probably a good sign that Robinson was walking out of the arena on his own.
The Knicks are not scheduled to practice on Friday, so Robinson will likely get extensive treatment and rest before practice on Saturday.
Will he be able to play on Sunday? If so, will he be limited by the ankle injury?
These are the two biggest questions hovering over the Knicks as they prepare for the most important game of their season.
