As the New York Knicks get set to begin the 2025-26 campaign, Mitchell Robinson is technically not hurt, but according to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post, he’s going to be load-managed from the very start of the season. He won’t be available for Opening Night. At that point, how is Robinson not hurt? He has to be. Healthy players aren’t going through load management.
“They will begin their season without two key pieces, as Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson are out for Wednesday’s opener against the Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Neither practiced on Tuesday. Hart’s absence — he is dealing with lumbar spasms, per a league source — makes sense,” Scwartz wrote. “But Robinson’s lack of availability raises plenty of questions. The Knicks publicly maintain that Robinson, who was set to move into the starting lineup with Hart going to the bench to lead the second unit, is not hurt, but rather that it is load management.”
“If we deemed it necessary, could he possibly go? Yeah, he could possibly go,” coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. If Robinson can play… why isn’t he? It’s not as if the Knicks have a back-to-back looming or are coming off a heavy period of action. What is the load that is being managed before playing a single regular-season game?”
What’s going on with Mitchell Robinson?
So, Robinson isn’t available. He and Josh Hart are going to be out on Opening Night. But, technically speaking, Robinson isn’t hurt? That doesn’t make any sense.
Load managing for some games this season would make sense. New York not wanting Robinson to play every single game of the season is a perfectly fine plan. But not right now.
It would be one thing if the Knicks were to bench Robinson once every few games. Or even just on the second nights of back-to-backs. But they are keeping him out of the first game of the NBA season.
Robinson hasn’t played in a game since the postseason. He’s been recovering and training all summer, yet he’s not ready to play in Game 1 of the new season? Okay, then he’s hurt. But… he’s not?
At this point, it just seems as though the Knicks are hiding Robinson’s injury diagnosis. He’s clearly not fully healthy, because if he were, he would be active for the first game of the season.
Load managing during the very first game of a new season doesn’t make any logical sense.