Getty Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics goes to the basket against Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks.
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will return on Wednesday, March 27, in Toronto against the Raptors, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Robinson’s availability escalated quickly after the Knicks have upgraded Robinson to questionable in the NBA’s injury report (11:30 a.m. ET).
Robinson has not played since December 8 in Boston when he suffered a left ankle injury that required surgery. He missed the last 50 games where the Knicks went 31-19, thanks to Isaiah Hartenstein filling in admirably.
It has been one week now since Robinson re-joined the Knicks’ full practice.
Robinson is expected to come off the bench and under minute restriction when he’s cleared to return to play.
Mitchell Robinson Willing to Come off the Bench
Robinson has no qualms about coming off the bench when he returns.
“[I’d] rather come off the bench. Maybe I can show more,” Robinson responded to an Instagram post by a Knicks fan page (@knicks_movement) featuring him as starting center alongside Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson.
Robinson and the Knicks acknowledge that he will need time to build up his game conditioning.
“When a guy comes back off an extended injury or time where he’s been out, I think it takes a little bit of time to get that timing back,” Thibodeau said, per The Athletic on March 22. “It probably makes more sense with shorter minutes to (bring him off the bench). We’ll see how it unfolds.”
Robinson has not come off the bench since a November 20, 2022, loss to the Phoenix Suns when he returned from a right knee sprain last season. He logged two points on 1 of 2 shooting, four rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 17 minutes off the bench.
While his off-the-bench role lasted only for one game last season, it could be longer this time to ramp up his game conditioning with little more than two weeks left in the regular-season schedule.
In 21 games before the injury, Robinson averaged a career-high 10.3 rebounds along with 6.2 points on 59% shooting, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. He’s leading the league in offensive rebounding with 5.3 per game.
Hartenstein will continue to start after flourishing without Robinson as he averaged 9.9 rebounds, 8.2 points, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks in his absence.
Mitchell Robinson Excited to Team up With OG Anunoby
Robinson anchored the Knicks’ defense during their last two playoff runs, serving as one of the league’s best rim protectors and top rebounders. For the first time in his six-year career, he will have one of the elite wing defenders, if not the most elite, to help him tighten the Knicks’ defense.
“He’s active. He’s not afraid to take a chance,” Robinson said of Anunoby, per the New York Post on March 21. “He might miss one here or there but that’s alright. He’ll get most of them. I can make up for it when he doesn’t get it.”
But that has to wait until both he and Anunoby are cleared to return.
Anunoby, who led the league in steals during the 2022-23 season and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, will miss his fifth straight game after experiencing inflammation on his surgically repaired right elbow.