James Wiseman could be an upgrade over Mitchell Robinson (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The New York Knicks got the worst possible news about their star center, Mitchell Robinson.
After being in playoff contention last week, the New York Knicks went on a two-game losing streak at the hands of the Miami Heat. The Knicks got back in the win column on Friday night after defeating the Washington Wizards 109-91, but they got some bad news about a pivotal starter.
At halftime, the Knicks announced that center Mitchell Robinson was ruled out for the remainder of the game due to a right hand injury. Shortly afterwards, the Knicks’ public relations department tweeted that X-rays determined that Robinson had fractured his right hand. He will undergo another evaluation in New York on Saturday.
Robinson breaks shooting hand
The injury occurred in the second quarter when he collided with Wizards guard Garrison Mathews while setting up a screen. What makes the injury that much worse is that Robinson fractured his shooting hand.
This was an awful end to what was a great night for the Knicks big man. Through the first half, Robinson scored 10 points (on 5-of-6 shooting from the field), grabbed 14 rebounds and recorded 2 steals in 20 minutes of playing time. Entering Friday night, Robinson had averaged 8.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 65.3 percent from the field.
The Knicks will receive official word on how much time Robinson will miss after meeting with doctors on Saturday. With Robinson sidelined for this undetermined amount of time, head coach Tom Thibodeau will have to give extra playing time to backup centers Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson.
New York will have to move forward quickly, as they host the Houston Rockets on Saturday evening with the hopes of building a two-game win streak.