Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson spoke about Mitchell Robinson’s imminent return to the court.
As if winning four consecutive games—three of them on the road—wasn’t good enough, New York Knicks fans got another extraordinary piece of news on Wednesday when beat reporters echoed the presence of long-time injured big man Mitchell Robinson on the team’s practice.
Robinson, who has been out since early December, is finally getting some reps with the rest of his teammates while shooting and going through contact. He has been ruled out for Thursday’s matchup at Denver (as well as Julius Randle and OG Anunoby) but it’s fair to assume all three starters will take the court at some point before the end of the regular season.
Here is what head coach Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson had to say following Wednesday’s practice.
Tom Thibodeau
On Mitchell Robinson’s first team practice with the Knicks, including contact…
“Mitch was good. He practiced today. He’s got to go through contact for a while. So then he’s got to get cleared by the doctor.”
”It wasn’t extended (the practice) obviously, but he did shooting. He did shooting, offense, defense, script. Good day.”
On Robinson’s fitness and weight after spending more than four months on the shelf…
“You’re always concerned (about weight) when you can’t do a lot of cardio. He did all he could. He was in the pool all the time. You’re always concerned about a big gaining of weight because of the lack of cardio. But he did a good job of monitoring his weight. So that’s a big plus.“
“Now once he’s cleared, just keep building. We’ll keep adding each day and see how he feels the next day. You never know until tomorrow–how he feels. So that’s a big part of this.”
On how the lineup might change once Robinson returns and whether or not he’ll come off the bench…
“When we get there, we’ll make that decision. But he’s not going to play extended minutes when he comes back. He’s going to build up to that.”
”Both guys (Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein) have gone back and forth. I didn’t see what he wrote or said, anything like that, but when a guy comes back off an extended injury or time where he’s been out, I think it takes a little bit of time to get that timing back.”
”It probably makes more sense with shorter minutes to do it in that way (Robinson coming off the bench). We’ll see how it unfolds.”
On how he will deal with having both Hartenstein and Mith available and ready to play along with the rest of his roster…
“There’s obviously going to be a lot of mixing and matching. It’s not like it’s going to be all bench guys with no starters. There’s usually going to be two starters out there. We did it quite a bit last year, mixing and matching.”
“One guy would finish one game. The next time it would be somebody else, depending on what we needed.”
”We know all the things that Mitch adds to the team. It’ll be great to get him back. We’re obviously very pleased with what Isaiah has brought. You throw in Precious [Achiuwa] and Jericho’s [Sims] done a good job. We like the depth that we have in that position. That’s been a big plus for us.”
On Hartenstein’s minutes restriction and what is shaping the amount of playing time he gets…
“With Isaiah’s minutes restriction works that way. He’s going to play with both units. Again, once you get to the fourth quarter, you’re looking at, ‘What do we need to win the game?’ That’s where we make our decisions.”
Jalen Brunson
On Mitchell Robinson’s first practice and what he will add to the Knicks…
“Looked like Mitch.”
“Toughness, obviously rebounding, finishing around the rim, blocking the rim, protecting the rim…. They’re things he’s been great at his whole career. And so, he brings that to the table and just gives us another element.”
Mitchell Robinson
On his potential new role once he returns from injury…
“I’d rather come off the bench. Maybe I can show more.”