New York Knicks fans learned on Tuesday that the team would be without Mitchell Robinson (left ankle injury management) and Josh Hart (lumbar spasms) in their season-opener against the Cavaliers on Wednesday. The Knicks also listed Karl-Anthony Towns (quad strain) as questionable, and OG Anunoby (ankle) as probable.
On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that New York downgraded Towns to doubtful. An hour later, Charania reported that the Knicks changed KAT's injury designation again, listing him as questionable. Charania said Towns will be a "game-time decision."
The Knicks, an hour later, are now listing Karl-Anthony Towns as questionable again. He is essentially a game-time decision. https://t.co/P1IOm1LmLM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 22, 2025
Not only could the Knicks be without two of their starters, but they won't have Hart, who hasn't played since the first preseason game, off the bench. If Towns doesn't play, New York will be without its top two bigs, meaning Mike Brown will have to give second-year center Ariel Hukporti minutes. Guerschon Yabusele can also play the five.
This isn't the situation that the Knicks wanted to be in, certainly not in the first game of the season.
Karl-Anthony Towns is a game-time decision for Knicks
What's going on with Robinson is sketchy enough; load management is one thing, but citing that as the reason why he isn't playing in the first regular-season game is another. He traveled to Abu Dhabi with the team for their first two preseason games against the Sixers. Robinson played 18 minutes in the first matchup, more than any other Knicks player. He also played in the next two preseason games, but didn't play in the second half of the third game.
Fans believe that there's a lot more to Robinson's status than New York is letting on, which is concerning for more than one reason. Now, to have Towns dealing with an injury, too?
It's hard not to feel discouraged, even though the Knicks haven't even bounced the ball a single time on the court in a meaningful game. There is a lot of excitement about the kind of team that New York can be, but injury issues (especially mysterious ones) will quickly erase that excitement if they continue to plague the Knicks.
The good news is that it's only October, which you could interpret as it only being October, and New York is already dealing with several injuries. Or you could interpret it as it only being October, so at least it's not April. There is still a long way to go before the playoffs start. The hope is that the Knicks will make it there in one piece. It's not about how you start, but about how you finish, right?