The Knicks opener comes with an injury to Josh Hart and major intrigue from Mitchell Robinson

The Knicks are already at a deficit.

They start their season without two key pieces, as Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson are out for Wednesday’s opener against the Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Both did not train on Tuesday.

Hart’s absence — he is suffering from lumbar spasms, according to a league source — makes sense. But Robinson’s lack of availability raises many questions.

The Knicks are publicly claiming that Robinson, who was slated to move into the starting lineup while Hart moved to the bench to lead the second unit, is not injured but rather it’s a matter of load management.

“If we felt it was necessary, could he go? Yes, he could go,” coach Mike Brown said Tuesday.

If Robinson can play… why doesn’t he? It’s not like the Knicks are coming off a back-to-back or a heavy stretch of action. What is the load administered before one regular season game is played?

Well, it’s a matter of ankle injury management, according to a league source.

That suggests Robinson has suffered a setback in the preseason. He missed most of the regular season last year after undergoing surgery on his left ankle in May 2024.

It was the second operation on that ankle; he underwent his first surgery in December 2023. Last year he played only seventeen regular season games and did not make his season debut until February 28.

Robinson missed the last two preseason games – he played in the first three, but did not play in the second half of the third and has not played since.

But now the Knicks want to make sure he’s 100 percent ready before he sees real game action this year. It’s something they will monitor throughout the year.

“With Mitch, we just have to be smart,” Brown said. “That’s part of managing the load. Just because he might be able to play tonight and he might be able to practice today doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to play against him or I’m going to practice with him.”

Without Robinson, Ariel Hukporti could form the basis. He was a second-round pick last year and played in 25 games as a rookie.

Brown has suggested he would rather replace a starter with someone who most closely resembles his role, rather than bringing in the next best player and switching roles, such as moving Karl-Anthony Towns to center and starting Guerschon Yabusele at power forward.

“Whatever the coach says, I will trust his word,” Hukporti said on Tuesday.

Hart missed the final four preseason games. He does more running and court work, but the Knicks don’t want to rush him.

It immediately puts a dent in a bench unit that the Knicks were convinced is much deeper than last year’s.

Without Hart, this could mean an increased workload for Yabusele or pave the way for Landry Shamet to take action.

“We’re trying to figure out his back, which is a tough situation, so we have to be careful with it,” Brown said. “We don’t want to rush him. We’ll be patient and figure it out as we go.”