Here are the latest news updates and possible return dates for Knicks players…
Mar. 4, 6:15 p.m.
Knicks superstar center Karl-Anthony Towns won’t play in Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors due to personal reasons, head coach Tom Thibodeau revealed before tip-off.
Towns, who was initially listed as questionable for the home matchup, is also not guaranteed to join the team for its upcoming five-game West Coast road trip. Thibodeau was asked about Towns’ future status, telling reporters, “When he’s ready to come back, obviously we want him back. But he needs some time right now.”
Towns missed last Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a knee injury, but he returned for a pair of weekend battles against the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat. In those two wins, he scored 11 and 19 points, respectively.
Feb. 26, 6:40 p.m.
The Knicks have ruled Karl-Anthony Towns out for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Towns has been dealing with a knee injury that he suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Celtics. Rookie center Ariel Hukporti will start in Towns’ place.
OG Anunoby (foot) is good to go while Mitchell Robinson (out) remains out but there’s optimism that he can play sometime this weekend.
Feb. 21, 6:22 p.m.
The Knicks won’t be as shorthanded as they were Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.
OG Anunoby will return to the lineup Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The forward missed three weeks due to a foot sprain but was cleared for full practice after the All-Star break.
Josh Hart (knee) and Mitchell Robinson (foot) remain out. This is the second consecutive game Hart will miss.
Feb. 19, 5:33 p.m.
While the Knicks shared encouraging injury updates for OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson on Wednesday afternoon, their first lineup following the All-Star break still won’t be at full strength.
The team announced Wednesday night that Josh Hart (knee) is ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Robinson (foot) is also not suiting up, while Anunoby (foot) is currently listed as questionable.
Hart is dealing with patellofemoral syndrome in his right knee, according to SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley. He was questionable to play on Feb. 12 due to a knee issue, but he ultimately played against the Atlanta Hawks and recorded a double-double across 48 minutes.
Anunoby, who’s been cleared to practice without any restrictions, has missed New York’s last five games.
Feb. 19, 1:05 p.m.
As the Knicks prepare to begin the second half of their season on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls, head coach Tom Thibodeau shared some positive injury updates.
Per Thibodeau, forward O.G. Anunoby has been cleared to practice without restrictions, while center Mitchell Robinson has been cleared for 5-on-5 contact at practice.
With Anunoby returning to practice without restrictions, it’s fair to assume that the 27-year-old will return to game action on Thursday. Anunoby has not played since suffering a mild foot sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, Robinson being cleared for contact is a huge step forward for the big man, who has yet to play this season due to offseason foot surgery. It’s unclear exactly when Robinson might be able to return to game action, but his season debut appears to be drawing closer and closer.
Feb. 10, 12:23 p.m.
OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson both “did parts of practice” on Monday and are making “steady progress,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said, but they are “still not ready” to return to game action.
Anunoby, who has been dealing with a mild foot sprain, is closer to making his return after missing the past three games and Thibodeau did not rule him out for Tuesday’s game in Indianapolis. But the tenor of his comments did not connote optimism.
Robinson, who has yet to make his season debut after undergoing surgery on his foot in the offseason, is “doing more and more each day,” the head coach said, but the center has not yet participated in any 5-on-5 work during practice and still “needs more time.”
The Knicks have two games left before they reach the NBA All-Star break which will see them have eight days between games.
Feb. 7, 12:45 p.m.
OG Anunoby was able to participate in parts of practice on Friday, but he hasn’t taken much contact yet.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau did say that is more “precautionary” for now, and that the power forward has been moving well.
Anunoby has missed the last two games after leaving Saturday’s contest in the third quarter with a mild foot sprain.
The Knicks are “hopeful” he’ll be back by the All-Star break, but they’ll continue taking things one day at a time.
Mitchell Robinson also appears to be trending in the right direction.
The big man has been able to do “quite a bit” in practice since being cleared for contact earlier this week, Thibodeau said.
He does, however, still have some steps to clear so the team will continue taking things one day at a time.
Robinson, who traveled with the team this week, hasn’t begun participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages yet.
Feb. 4, 7:15 p.m.
After being cleared for contact, Mitchell Robinson is traveling with the team as the Knicks take on the Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told the media before Tuesday’s tip, including the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy, that he’s “hopeful” Robinson practices this week.
“We’ll see, again, there are a number of steps he has to clear,” Thibodeau said. “But it’s good to have him cleared for contact and then you have to see how he responds to contact the day after the contact. But he’s…
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