Knicks F Obi Toppin To Undergo MRI Thursday

Obi Toppin left the New York Knicks' Wednesday win over Atlanta with a sore right knee.

Even a New York Knicks victory, one so statistically lucrative, comes with losing caveats.

Forward Obi Toppin left Wednesday's Madison Square Garden-based tilt against the Atlanta Hawks with right knee soreness. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Toppin will undergo an MRI on Thursday while noting that preliminary x-rays were negative. 

Toppin is one of those metropolitan reserves lucky enough to be a part of head coach Tom Thibodeau's planned nine-man rotation and was, in fact, enjoying an uptick in minutes: Sunday's loss to Dallas saw Toppin play 22 minutes, his first game with at least 20 on the floor since Nov. 16. Fortunately for the Knicks (12-13), not much was needed from Toppin as starting power forward Julius Randle went off for 34 points and a season-best 17 rebounds in a 113-89 victory. Toppin played eight minutes before leaving, sinking one of three attempts from three-point range in that span.

If Toppin misses any sort of significant time, this could be the way for Cam Reddish to squeeze himself back into the rotation. Reddish was more or less banished from Thibodeau's new-look nine-man rotation during Sunday's win over Cleveland, which stood as his first healthy scratch of the year. He previously spent eight games in the team's starting lineup before he lost the primary shooting guard's role to Quentin Grimes thanks in part to a groin injury. 

Reddish and his representatives are reportedly working with the Knicks on a trade but a Toppin injury could prolong his stay. The former Hawk was likewise held out of Wednesday's win despite the one-sided score.

Toppin is in the midst of his third season in New York after joining the team as the eighth pick in the 2020 draft. He has partaken in all 24 games thus far this season and is averaging 7.9 points with a career-best 3.9 rebounds.

The Knicks return to action on Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets (7 p.m. ET, MSG).

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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