Just when morale reaches a high in Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks (33-19) get smacked with multiple injury updates that are sure to sour fans’ good mood. Following the news that OG Anunoby underwent elbow surgery and will be re-evaluated in three weeks, the team lost another key player during Thursday’s 122-108 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks (29-23).
Isaiah Hartenstein has a sore Achilles and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, per NBA correspondent Marc Stein. That left head coach Tom Thibodeau with an extremely thin bench. With multiple players nursing injuries and Quentin Grimes and Malachi Flynn being shipped out to the Detroit Pistons as part of the Bojan Bogdanovic trade, the Knicks only had seven available players for much of the matchup.
This is not how this post-trade deadline era was supposed to start. New York did a nice job of filling out its depth but abruptly loses one of its most underrated and valuable supporting players. Hartenstein, who has been starting for the injured Mitchell Robinson, is averaging 8.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. He was off to a hot start versus the Mavericks, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 15 minutes of action.
Robinson is expected to return soon after the All-Star break, but if this lingering Achilles issue continues to bother Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks might find themselves even more shorthanded down low. In that unpleasant scenario, big man Jericho Sims might be asked to quickly come of age.
Fans are hoping to get some positive news in the coming days, so that they can go back to reveling in their NBA trade deadline success and solid standing. The team next takes the court on Friday against the Indiana Pacers (29-24).
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