Knicks have mounting injuries, but Grizzlies are worse off
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts to a call during the second half of an NBA game against the Lakers on Saturday at Mdison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
The Knicks hadn’t reached the levels that the Memphis Grizzlies have, with 13 players listed on the injury report before the game. The league had to grant the Grizzlies three exceptions to the roster to be able to put a complete team on the court and 35-year-old Derrick Rose pushed into the lineup despite his own injury troubles.
But the Knicks did enter Tuesday night’s game against Memphis at the Garden with five players sidelined — all rotation pieces — and testing once again Tom Thibodeau’s insistence to simply count on the next man up.
The Knicks were without Mitchell Robinson, who has been sidelined for two months already, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Quentin Grimes and Jericho Sims, who was a late scratch after feeling sick at the morning shootaround.
“I think we saw some of that with the COVID stuff during the pandemic,” Thibodeau said. “The thing is I always say if you’re on the roster you’re a great player. And sometimes you find things . . . Sometimes that opportunity is what you need and then you find something.
“Nothing changes in terms of how you prepare. You have to know your opponent well. You have to execute on both sides of the ball and whoever you’re asking to go in there, go in and execute. Everyone is capable of doing those things. The same thing has happened with us — Mitch got hurt and Isaiah [Hartenstein] went in and has done a terrific job. Precious [Achiuwa] came in, initially wasn’t playing a lot. Now he’s playing a lot and playing well. Whoever that next guy is get in there and play well and get the job done. We have a big belief in all the guys who are on our roster.”
Thibodeau may have confidence, but he has still pushed his main pieces. Four players played at least 40 minutes against the Lakers Saturday, and Hartenstein was limited to 39 only because he fouled out. The break has come at practice time with Thibodeau giving his team off Sunday and Monday to rehabilitate for this game.
Hartenstein said that even during the All-Star break players can’t totally take off. They need to keep their conditioning up no matter where they head to for a vacation. Nothing changes in their preparation now, even as the minutes pile up.
“Not really. It’s depending on how your body feels,” Hartenstein said. “Before you’re kind of prepping for the worst-case scenario anyway. So you get treatment like that, kind of prepare your body like that. But right now it’s focus on if there’s little nagging things. At the end of the day if you’re professional you don’t wait until something happens. You already do it before. So you’re not really any different. I always act like stuff is like that.
“[Practice] is the one thing we’ve really changed. If you’re not playing you’ve got to do more on those off-days. That’s the only difference I can see, if your minutes go up and down. Right now, we’ve got guys hurt and if you’re not physically ready to play those minutes, even when you’re not playing, that’s when it goes downhill.”
The Knicks have offered little clarity on the status of their missing pieces. The only update on Randle is that his dislocated right shoulder would be re-evaluated after two or three weeks.
Anunoby’s injury is even more vague. The Knicks are calling it right elbow inflammation but not announcing how it was injured or when his return is projected. Grimes, according to a source, would likely miss the current homestand and could be out through the All-Star break.
“Just trust medical,” Thibodeau said. “When they clear them, they clear them.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
