348 - Emergency pod: Mitchell Robinson has a broken finger - out indefinitely!

Talk about a kick in the NUTS.  

The Knicks are finally playing the kind of connected, ruthless basketball that makes you believe a Finals run can end with something real. Then a headline drops that changes the math fast: Mitchell Robinson reportedly suffers a broken pinky finger on his right hand, his shooting hand, and the early word is out indefinitely. That one phrase introduces a whole range of outcomes, and every single one of them forces tough questions about the rotation, the game plan, and the matchups. 

I break down what the injury could mean with the NBA Finals right around the corner, including how the extra days off help and why the unknown opponent makes preparation even harder. If the Knicks draw a problem like Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, Robinson’s ability to defend bigs inside and outside is not a luxury, it is part of the blueprint. Even against any opponent, his presence changes how aggressive we can be at the rim, how confident we feel switching, and how many mistakes our defense can survive. 

Then I zoom in on why Robinson matters so much even when the free throw shooting becomes a meme. He is a spark, a defensive anchor, and a possession machine with elite rebounding, timely shot blocking, and those momentum alley oops that flip a crowd. When the Knicks have been spreading the wealth and winning as a complete team, this is the adversity test that shows whether the identity holds. If you’re riding with the Knicks, listen now, then subscribe, share the show, and leave a review so more fans can find us.

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Transcript

Welcome And Emergency Update

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to Jersey Guy Sports, your sports talk home for the Yanks, Giants, Knicks, Rangers, and Rucker Scott Knights. I'm your host, Don. Thanks for listening.

Mitchell Robinson Injury Details

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Today we have an emergency podcast. Mitchell Robinson is hurt with a potential broken pinky finger on his shooting hand. And what is a New York Knicks kick in the nuts as they approach the NBA finals? Let's go ahead and get started. So I guess everything was going too good for the Knicks, right? We just can't have nice things, it turns out. In this emergency podcast, I want to report on what could be potentially devastating setback for the New York Knicks. Mitchell Robinson reportedly suffered a broken pinky finger in his right hand. That's a shooting hand. And it reportedly is out indefinitely. And that word, you don't know what it means. Obviously, the Knicks had or have are in the middle of nine

Finals Timing And Unknown Opponent

SPEAKER_00 1:06

days off. Again, eight or nine days off. So this helps. But depending on when this happened, Mitchell Robinson may or may not play in the NBA Finals. And that is a devastating setback for the New York Knicks. It's unclear when or how Robinson suffered the injury. It's unclear whether he's out for the NBA Finals or how he or if he could potentially play with the fractured finger. Obviously, from what I'm reading here, depending on the severity of the fracture, Robinson could either play through the injury if he can deal with the pain, or if it's more serious, he could be out, or he could come back in the middle of the series. Right now there's a lot of unknowns. But, you know, we don't even know our opponent at this point. Certainly, if we had to play San Antonio, and San Antonio and Oklahoma City are going to a game seven, so our opponent is still not known yet. But if we have to play Wemby and the Spurs, not having Robinson to body up Wemby is just a devastating setback for the New York Knicks. And as everyone knows, besides that, even if we played Oklahoma City, Mitchell Robinson's value

Why Robinson Matters So Much

SPEAKER_00 2:18

is well known to every single Knicks fan. And certainly he's got his problems with the free throw shooting that are well known, well documented, and almost a meme at this point. He's so bad at free throw shooting that it's become almost comical. Outside of that, he is the spark almost every game that drives the Knicks. When the Knicks subs come in, they almost constantly outplay the other team's subs all the time. And that's due to a number of reasons. One of them is Mitchell Robinson. His energy, his defense, his ability to not only guard bigs inside, but get out on the perimeter and guard them. So if you had an outside shooter that was tall, you know, Wemby can shoot from everywhere. You know, Mitchell Robinson has the ability to get out there and guard him in space and jump. Whereas, you know, Kat is a good inside, he's become a good inside defender, Kat has, but Kat doesn't have the ability, the speed, or really the ups to guard Wemby or another athletic big guy outside, right? Whereas Mitch Robinson has the ability to guard any big guy anywhere. And the loss of that kind of defense, I think, is critical. Not to mention, he provides a spark offensively, right? There's so many alley oops and big plays that have happened in the playoffs. And most critically, he's maybe the best rebounder in the NBA. Just point blank. You know, I know you know he doesn't have the best stats because he's a bench player, but per minute he has the most rebounds of any player in the NBA. And you see it all the time, right? He has, you know, eight offensive rebounds in 14 minutes played or something like that, or some ridiculous stat. He had 15 rebounds in in 17 minutes or something ridiculous, right? So Robinson really, really, really helps the Knicks in so many ways. He's an excellent defender on ball. He can make steals, he's an excellent shot blocker, he's an excellent rebounder, as I just mentioned. He's very good on alley oops, he sets screens really well. He's very athletic and get up to the top of the key, you know, and be in position. He's quick, right? Unlike Kat, who is good, but certainly far from quick, Mitch Robinson is very, very quick. And he, again, he has the ability to defend people like Wemby, who have strong inside games and outside games. Whereas Kat, I think, is more of a good defender lately on the inside. He's become a much better defender, Kat. The loss of Robinson, if it is to be, and if we are going to play the Spurs in particular, really the the loss cannot be overstated for the Knicks. And I don't want to make it to sound too dramatic or just to come off as hyperbole, because every team

Team Chemistry Meets Sudden Adversity

SPEAKER_00 5:08

has to face adversity, right? And and you know, but it is not a good sign that everything was coming up roses, and then right before we're about to hit the finals, the Knicks played game one on Tuesday night, June 3rd, on the road, this comes up where you you were just feeling good as a Knicks fan. Everything was turning up roses, wins by 30, 40, 50 points, the killer instinct that we talked about on previous podcasts, right? The ability to spread the wealth among all the players on the floor, where each night there's seemingly a different hero. There's not a need for Brunson to be Superman. You have Shamet playing well, you had Deuce finally hitting some shots, you have OG back to being himself, Cap being a distributor, a scorer, a rebounder, everything you want. Landry Shamut just being brilliant off the bench. Mitch Robinson again, playing like he always does. Hart somewhat up and down, but mostly has played very well again, and Bridges just constantly playing well. So you had a real team game going. Everything was clicking for the New York Knicks, and now you have this potentially devastating setback. So, you know, when everything was turned up roses, the New York Knicks just got a friggin' kick in the nuts, man, right in the nads with this injury news. And if you are a New York Knicks fan, you have to gasp at this point because it almost seems like it seemed like things were going too well, right? And it was so good that we weren't even considering bad news. And then you get this potentially awful news today. And again, as I mentioned, adversity faces all teams in some form. And here it is for the Knicks. So time will tell how they ride out this wave, and we're just gonna have to pay attention to the news and see how Mitch is able to handle the pain and if he's able to start the first game or any of the games, you know, come in during the NBA finals. Time is gonna tell. But, you know, for the Knicks and the Knicks fans, this is some really bad news in some really

What To Watch Next And Closing

SPEAKER_00 7:12

good times. So that's it. Just wanted to report on that. Thanks for listening to Jersey Guy Sports. Please subscribe, tell your friends all about it. I'll be back soon with some more sports talk. Thanks and have a good day.