New York Knicks center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns. John Jones-Imagn Images

Knicks get late injury update concerning Karl-Anthony Towns

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 1:58 PM ET

The New York Knicks opening game Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers will be an uphill battle.

Late injury update

In a surprise injury update Wednesday afternoon from ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania, Knicks' big-man Karl-Anthony Towns is dealing with a quad strain that has him doubtful for Wednesday.

He was listed as questionable as early as Wednesday morning, but an afternoon update has seen the likelihood of the seven-foot center suiting up decrease greatly.

Uphill battle

If Towns is unable to go, New York will be down three key players for its opening game of the season. Tuesday, we highlighted that both Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson are dealing with their own injuries that will keep them out of the opening contest of the season.

Towns has a quad strain and there's increased pessimism today for his status tonight. The Knicks are also without Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and Josh Hart (lumbar) to start the new season. https://t.co/P1IOm1LmLM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 22, 2025

Who will fill in?

It will be an extremely short-handed Knicks lineup Wednesday against the Cavaliers. It is unclear as to who exactly will fill up the missing minutes in the rotation.

Our best guess would be some combination of Pacome Dadiet, Guerschon Yabusele and even potentially Trey Jameson that fills those minutes.

Cleveland will certainly have the upper hand against New York on Wednesday, and it'll be important for the Knicks role players to show their importance to a team with championship aspirations.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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