Mitchell Robinson Joins Growing List of Resting Knicks

Mitchell Robinson will not play in the penultimate game of the New York Knicks' regular season on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Mitchell Robinson is going home for spring break.

The New York Knicks announced that Robinson would be held out of Friday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans (8 p.m. ET, MSG) for resting purposes. Robinson joins fellow starters Jalen Brunson (right hand maintenance) and Julius Randle (ankle) and it'd be no surprise to see RJ Barrett (illness) miss his third straight game. 

Mitchell Robinson (rest) is out for tonight’s game at New Orleans.

— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) April 7, 2023

Robinson, who burst onto the national basketball scene at Chalmette High School in Louisiana, has averaged 9.9 rebounds and 7.6 points in 20 games since returning from a fractured thumb injury in February. His vacation should lead to a busy evening in Smoothie King Center's paint for Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims.

Voluntarily removing any star power from their lineup has been the theme of the Knicks' week after they officially reserved their spot in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. They'll hold the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers looming. The matchup between the Knicks and Cavs is the only confirmed matchup on the NBA bracket so far though the top five seeds (Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia holding the top three) are spoken for. 

Unlike the locked-down Knicks, New Orleans (41-39) still has a little something to play for: the Pelicans have an outside shot at the Western Conference's fifth seed, which would be their first top-five finish in the standings since 2007-08 (under the moniker of the Hornets). As it stands, the Pelicans can finish no worse than ninth in the final standings. They're currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the top seed in the Western Play-In Tournament though the purple-and-gold holds the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-1 season series win.

Time will tell if the Knicks continue a pattern of rest on Sunday when the regular season closes at Madison Square Garden against the Indiana Pacers. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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