Knicks face headache on key player's availability

The New York Knicks have a prime opportunity ahead of them. The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers are both expected to embrace a gap year this season as they tread water until Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton return to their respective rotations. 

Therefore, the Knicks will be among the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference and contend for a championship. However, Mike Brown will first need to figure out how to get the best out of Mitchell Robinson. The rim-running big man missed all but 17 games of the 2024-25 regular season due to an ankle injury. 

According to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, Robinson is heading into the new campaign with uncertainty regarding his availability in back-to-backs.

"Mitchell Robinson says he's not sure about playing on back-to-backs and he'll let the medical staff handle that," Winfield reported.

Robinson will be a key piece to the Knicks' rotation. His ability to protect the rim, run the floor and provide vertical spacing will perfectly slot into Mike Brown's run-and-gun system. If he needs to sit out at least one game of a back-to-back, the coaching staff must meticulously plan ahead and stick to that approach, regardless of how the season is progressing. 

Robinson isn't concerned about his role 

Throughout his career, Robinson has been both a starter and a core part of the second unit. Given his injury history and his importance to the overall roster, the coaching staff may experiment with placing him in both of those spots while they figure out what works best for keeping him healthy while giving the team the best opportunity to win. 

“That don’t matter to me at all. I’ve started before, I’ve came off the bench before. I did great in both,” Robinson told the media on September 25.