It’s funny how a loss to the worst team in the Eastern Conference suddenly alters the fate of a player’s status so suddenly.
The New York Knicks’ injury report just took a turn for the positive after their horrendous loss to the woebegone Indiana Pacers the night prior. Big man Mitchell Robinson will, indeed, be in the lineup for the team’s final game before the NBA All-Star break.
Robinson missed Tuesday night’s loss at Madison Square Garden with what was called a day-to-day ankle injury. At least that’s what the official injury report read.
In reality, the Knicks’ most valuable defensive player (and arguably the team’s second-most valuable player altogether) sat out because it was the first of a back-to-back, a predictable pattern this year for Mike Brown’s squad. On Wednesday afternoon, several hours before tip-off against the Philadelphia 76ers, Robinson was removed from the official injury report.
(How the Knicks ever survived last year without Robinson, who played in only the final 17 regular-season games, is a miracle, but that’s another topic entirely.)
The bad news column highlights OG Anunoby‘s status. It’s one thing to play without the team’s best rim-protector, by far; it’s doubly painful when the squad’s best perimeter defender is also in street clothes.
Anonoby has missed the team’s last three games with a toe injury. Having not played since the Knicks’ exhilarating double-overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 4, the team decided to keep him out of action with All-Star Weekend just a few days away.
Of course, Miles McBride is the other name on the Knicks’ injury report. He remains sidelined indefinitely with a sports hernia, and likely won’t return until closer to playoff time.
The Knicks and Sixers are set to get underway from Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. The 34-20 Knicks currently hold a 3.5-game advantage over the 30-23 Sixers in the Atlantic Division.
