Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau Has Positive Update On Injured Players

The New York Knicks entered the NBA All-Star break on a low note. They are riding a four-game losing streak, which is their longest of the 2023-24 season. It is easy to see why New York has hit a road bump recently, as their rotation has been ravaged by injuries,

In one of those losses, against the Dallas Mavericks on the night of the NBA Trade Deadline, New York was without Jalen Brunson. Isaiah Hartenstein re-aggravated his Achilles soreness and didn’t play in the second half. 

That left Tom Thibodeau with seven healthy players in the game, as his bench was Jacob Toppin and Charlie Brown Jr. with Taj Gibson stepping into the lineup for Hartenstein. It was more of the same against the Indiana Pacers in their next game.

Brunson was back and Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks were there to play. But their frontcourt was depleted with Hartenstein sidelined, joining Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims. New York crumbled at the end without an anchor for their defense being available.

Sims was able to return against the Houston Rockets, but more injuries occurred. Donte DiVincenzo missed the final five minutes of the game with a hamstring injury and Bogdanovic, who was nursing a calf injury when he arrived in New York, seemed to aggravate that.

Both players missed the final game ahead of the NBA All-Star break against the Orlando Magic. They were joined on the sidelines by Hartenstein, while OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Robinson all remained out as well. Anunoby and Randle have both been sidelined since January 27th against the Miami Heat.

The Knicks are set to kick off the second half of their season on Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Luckily for them, it sounds as if some reinforcements are on the way, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.

“Head coach Tom Thibodeau said Wednesday that he expects Hartenstein, DiVincenzo and Bogdanović back when the Knicks next play — Thursday in Philadelphia.

Hartenstein told The Athletic he doesn’t consider the Achilles injury (which the team says is tendinopathy and not a tear) serious, though he’s been nursing it since last season,” Katz wrote.

That is certainly an encouraging update as the Knicks will be able to run a rotation of players on full-time NBA contracts for the first time in weeks. Another encouraging update provided by Katz was about Randle.

Randle is pushing to play as now, as he is no stranger to playing through pain. But, with what the team hopes is a deep run in the NBA Playoffs ahead, they are going to exhibit as much caution as possible. But, there is optimism that he will be able to return to the court with time remaining in the regular season.