Nerlens Noel ‘day-to-day’ with knee sprain, says Thibodeau
The Knicks’ center situation remains in perpetual flux.
The latest injury absence was again Nerlens Noel, who suffered a knee sprain Monday and sat two days later against the Bucks. Tom Thibodeau, who rarely provides specifics with injury updates or recovery timelines, called Noel “day-to-day.” To put that in perspective, Frank Ntilikina last season was “day-to-day” for a month because of a sprained knee.
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Thibodeau said about Noel.
Similarly, Noel seemed on the verge of returning for weeks earlier this season because of knee soreness and a hamstring issue. He missed the entirety of preseason and seven regular-season games before suffering the knee sprain on his fourth game back.
Mitchell Robinson, meanwhile, started Wednesday against the Bucks after sitting the previous game with a hip flexor strain. He’s played well when active, but missed most of last season with fractured bones.
The most reliable center has been Taj Gibson, who is 36 years old, and played 31 minutes Monday in Philadelphia.
“He stays ready all the time, so whatever you need — if you need him to start, he can start. If you need him to come off the bench, he can do that,” Thibodeau said. “If you need him just to be situational, he handles that well. He’s a great teammate. I think he understands the league really well. He helps you execute on both ends of the floor. So, he’s been a consummate team player throughout his career and he’s still getting it done.
“When you look at his productivity on the floor, he has a great net rating. So, just get out there; get the job done.”
Gibson, who recently became a father to a son, Taj Jr., said his key to health was cutting out sugar.
“No candy. No candy,” he said. “Me and Derrick [Rose] were talking about all the good candy we used to eat back in the day. I can’t eat that stuff anymore because so much inflammation it leads to after a game. Playing real physical, playing against talented big men the way we’ve been playing, I just been taking care of my body.”
Gibson is the eighth oldest player in the NBA. It’s an impressive top-10 list with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala.
“I’ve been blessed to be in this league a while now,” Gibson said. “Especially becoming a late pick [26th overall in 2009], coming in a lot older than guys. So I’m just happy to still be in this league. I’m just gonna ride it until they tell me they don’t want me to play anymore.”
The Knicks certainly need him now.
