Why isn’t Mitchell Robinson playing for the Knicks against the Pacers in game 7?

Despite being just one game away from breaking an almost quarter of a century hoodoo, the New York Knicks postseason has been far from plain sailing with injury hampering coach Tom Thibodeau’s planning.

The New Yorkers were unable to seal their passage to the final at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis but a place in the Eastern final is still up for grabs with the winner set to meet Boston Celtics in the final.

The Knicks have had to do things the hard way with three key players already sidelined for the rest of the season through injury.

Knicks injury issues continue

Power forward Julius Randle was forced to have surgery on a persistent shoulder problem with the April operation essentially bring the curtain down on his activity in the 2023-24 NBA season.

Bojan Bogdanovic also was forced to undergo season-ending foot surgery. The veteran forward will also miss the remainder of the 2024 playoffs due to a foot injury that requires attention after he was forced off in Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous round of the playoffs.

Mitchell Robinson, the backup center, is also expected to miss the rest of the season due to a stress injury to his left ankle.

Robinson played for only 12 minutes in Game 1 against the Pacers and underwent surgery on the same ankle in December, which resulted in him missing the bulk of the current season with the injury resurfacing during Game 3 of the series against the 76ers. The latest surgery and the rehabilitation time involved rules him out for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign.