As the New York Knicks gear up for Wednesday night's tip-off to the 2026 NBA Finals, mystery still shrouds the recent "pinky" injury sustained by big man Mitchell Robinson.
At this point, nothing is fully known when it comes to how he broke the finger in the first place, other than the fact that it didn't happen in a game but, rather, at home.
Recently, when discussing the injury, ESPN's Tim MacMahon went on record saying that he, too, endured a very similar break to the one Robinson did during his youth, and admitted that "two of them were the result of punching something."
Knicks fans, unfortunately, should be very familiar with players hurting themselves in such ways.
Let's not forget that back during the 2012 postseason, star big man Amar'e Stoudemire punched a glass casing surrounding a fire extinguisher after losing to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of round one. He wound up suffering lacerations on his left hand, requiring multiple stitches, and, sadly, was hobbled throughout the rest of New York's ill-fated quarterfinal series.
Fortunately in this instance, Robinson is far from a top-two option like Stoudemire was at the time, though he's still widely known as being a true difference-maker when out on the floor and at full strength.
Hopefully, the time he's had off between rounds has provided him with enough rehab to get to a place where he can still make a serious impact on the game.
Mitchell Robinson expected to be an active participant for Knicks in Finals
Despite not providing any updates about his injury progress the other day, as he skipped his media availability Tuesday afternoon, the expectation is that Robinson should be a fully active participant during this year's championship round right out of the gates.
Though still listed as questionable on the injury report with a "Fractured
Right 5th Metacarpal," based on the film from his practice sessions, ESPN's Tim Bontemps appears to be quite confident that not only will he play in Game 1, but that "he's going to be fine."
"He was catching the ball, he was shooting, he was catching rebounds, and passing. He has no limitations at all," Bontemps said about Robinson during the open portion of Tuesday's Knicks practice.
Robinson has played a major role in the Knicks' success throughout their postseason run, playing standout defense with a rating of 100.3 while holding opponents to a lackluster 43.7 percent shooting from the floor and pulling down 8.6 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions, the eighth-most among all NBA playoff participants.
His ability to protect the rim and play physical is something that New York will desperately need readily available to them as they attempt to slow down the Spurs and, more importantly, their 7-foot-4 wunderkind center, Victor Wembanyama.
With this in mind, Knicks fans are holding out hope that Bontemps' read on Robinson's activity in practice holds true in-game.
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