Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is making strides in his recovery from offseason foot surgery, however, he has not yet advanced to participating in team drills or running exercises.
“He’s making good steady progress,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said about Robinson after Saturday night’s 120-111 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Robinson was on the bench in street clothes for the game, which New York played without center Karl-Anthony Towns.
“He's gone to more stuff but nothing with the team yet,” the head coach said. “So he's making good, steady progress and we're gonna be patient with him.
“He’s doing a really good job and it’s good to have him around the team.”
When asked if Robinson had started running, Thibs said, “There’s a progression that he has to go through and he’s not quite there yet.”
“But doing some light shooting on the court, and that sort of thing,” he added.
SNY’s Ian Begley reported before the start of the season that the Knicks did not want to rush the rehab process and were targeting a January return date.
“Robinson and the Knicks are being cautious and want to make sure he is 100 percent healthy before he gets back,” Begley wrote in September.
Robinson sustained a stress injury to his left ankle in the second-round series against the Pacers – after sustaining an injury to the same ankle during a tangle with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid in the first-round series – and underwent a small procedure on the ankle in May.