3 things Knicks must do after brutal Mitchell Robinson injury news

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks reacts to the loss to the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden on January 16, 2023 in New York City. The Toronto Raptors defeated the New York Knicks 123-121 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

2 of 3

Julius Randle, New York Knicks. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) /

2: Deploy a Julius Randle-Obi Toppin frontcourt more

When Mitchell Robinson injured his knee against the Sixers on Nov. 4, Tom Thibodeau gave in to finally deploying an Obi Toppin-Julius Randle lineup because Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid. It’s something that worked in the Knicks’ favor as they pulled out the 106-104 win. Toppin and Randle played together for 10 minutes and during that span, New York outscored Philadelphia, 29-15.

It also worked well for the Knicks when they took on a Nuggets team without Nikola Jokic on Nov. 16. New York was down by 10 when Thibodeau decided to put Randle and Toppin on the floor together, and from there, the Knicks outscored the Nuggets, 20-7, to go on to win, 106-103.

After being hesitant to play Randle and Toppin together last season, Thibodeau said on playing the two together (subscription required), “I like it. There’s been ups and downs with it, but that’s probably more our team. The Philly game obviously was very good. We’ll continue to get a look at it.”

If the Knicks find themselves down late in their stretch of upcoming games, or if an opposing smaller lineup is out on the floor, Thibodeau needs to go back to the Randle-Toppin lineup that has seen success this season. After all, Thibodeau did say after the loss to the Wizards that Randle could play minutes at center in Robinson’s absence.

Home/Knicks News