There is plenty of mystery regarding Mitchell Robinson’s broken right pinky.
Coach Mike Brown said Friday that Robinson did not suffer the injury in a game or in Thursday’s practice.
Thursday was the Knicks’ first practice since Game 4 of the conference finals.
When asked when or how it happened, the Knicks said they were not getting into specifics. They also did not say when Robinson had surgery on the pinky.
Mitchell Robinson hopes to be ready for Game 1. Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Brown was noncommittal about Robinson’s availability for Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday.
“For me, I’m always going with whoever is available today,” Brown said Friday. “And he didn’t practice today. So we’re getting whoever we need ready to go. … I don’t want to know, just let me know if he can play and when he can play. Just like we normally would, we’re getting everyone else ready to go.”
Regardless, the hope is that Robinson, after a “minor procedure,” will be able to play, according to league sources.
“Mitch is very important to us,” OG Anunoby said Friday. “Amazing player. It’s unfortunate what happened, but I’m sure — just take it day by day now.”
It’s been a roller-coaster postseason for Robinson. His brutal free-throw shooting — he is 13-for-43 (30.2 percent) from the line in the playoffs — has allowed opponents to utilize Hack-a-Mitch and force the Knicks to take him off the court.
Mitchell Robinson after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. NBAE via Getty Images
He is only averaging 14.2 minutes per game in the postseason, down from 19.6 minutes per game in the regular season. He had not made as big an impact this as most expected entering the playoffs.
Before Game 3 of the conference finals against the Cavaliers, Robinson posted on Snapchat that his “mental health is not the best right now” and that he had a “very upsetting experience,” though he did not detail what happened. That post came a few days after Robinson said he had changed his phone number and planned to delete all of his social media accounts ahead of a “new chapter in my life.”
“I’m deleting all apps for a little while,” Robinson wrote, “until I can get back to myself.”
Robinson missed Game 2 of the second round against the 76ers for what was listed on the injury report as an illness.
He is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
