The Knicks are dealing with an unlikely injury situation ahead of their NBA Finals matchup with the Spurs. Backup center Mitchell Robinson suffered a fractured fifth metacarpal on his right hand at home, underwent surgery, and his availability remains uncertain as the series approaches.
Robinson's injury presents a peculiar wrinkle. Unlike the bumps and bruises that accumulate over an 82-game season and the wear of playoff basketball, this came from somewhere entirely outside the court. The timing is inconvenient regardless of cause.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
The Robinson factor against Wembanyama
When healthy this season, Robinson played in two of the Knicks' three games against San Antonio. Both resulted in New York wins. In those contests, Robinson and Victor Wembanyama shared the court for 22 minutes and 41 seconds combined—and the Knicks outscored the Spurs by 20 points in that window.
The connection is straightforward: Wembanyama is the most dominant rim protector in NBA history, just crowned the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. Scoring directly on him is nearly impossible. But Robinson offers something almost as valuable—second chances. He posted a 39.5% offensive rebound rate this season, slightly above what the Rockets managed as the league's best on the offensive glass. In the NBA Cup final against these same Spurs, that number climbed above 46% when both Robinson and Wembanyama were on the floor together.
His presence warps how Wembanyama defends. A defender chasing a layup can't afford to sacrifice position for a block, knowing Robinson is positioned to clean up misses. That gravitational pull opens looks for teammates—a subtle edge that compounds over a series.
What the Knicks lose without him
Without Robinson, the Knicks lose their most reliable lob threat in pick-and-roll and their best offensive rebounder. Karl-Anthony Towns will likely draw the initial assignment on Wembanyama, but he's fouling at a career-high rate during these playoffs—4.6 per 36 minutes. Asking him to play heavy minutes against the most imposing scorer in the league carries obvious risk.
OG Anunoby offers a solution; he's large enough to bang with centers and has guarded bigs like Joel Embiid in postseasons past. But asking a wing to log center minutes while carrying significant offensive burden may prove costly over seven games.
The Knicks have enough talent to win this series. Whether they have enough size in the middle to handle Wembanyama without their crucial role player remains the pressing question.