The injury-hit Knicks could certainly use a few warm bodies after employing a seven-man rotation in the second half of Thursday’s loss to the Mavericks.
Recently acquired veterans Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic are expected to play Saturday night when the Knicks take on the Pacers at the Garden.
However, center Isaiah Hartenstein is already ruled out, having left Thursday’s game at halftime after aggravating a recurrent left Achilles tendon injury.
He missed two games due to issues in January.
Hartenstein averaged 8.3 points and 11.2 rebounds in 24 games as a starter this season, and Mitchell Robinson has been on the sidelines since early December after undergoing ankle surgery.
Jalen Brunson, who missed Thursday’s game with a right ankle sprain, has been listed as questionable again.
The Knicks were also without Julius Randle (shoulder), OG Anunoby (elbow) and Jericho Sims (illness) against the Mavericks.
Sims’ availability for Saturday’s game is also questionable, but if he is unavailable, the Knicks will likely use the center tandem of Precious Achiuwa and Taj Gibson.
After trading four players on loan contracts with the Pistons, the Knicks traded seven players to the Pistons in the second half on Thursday after Hartenstein’s departure, including two players on two-way contracts: Charlie Brown Jr. and Jacob Toppin. Had to use rotation.
As expected, Gibson has signed a second 10-day contract, league officials said.
The Knicks will then have to decide whether to offer Tom Thibodeau’s longtime favorite a contract for the remainder of the season.
If the Knicks go shorthanded again on Saturday night against the Pacers, Toppin could earn a spot in the rotation against his older brother, former Knicks forward Obi Toppin.
The brothers shared an NBA court for the first time on Dec. 30 in Indiana, when the Knicks were also short on players following the Anunoby trade.
Toppins entered the game in the final minutes for both teams, but Jacob Toppin did not play when the Pacers came to MSG last month.
“It was great to have him on the court with me.” [in Indiana]. I hope we can do it again,” Obi Toppin said during a previous visit. “It would be even better if we could do it here in New York and at The Garden.”
Jacob Toppin will represent the Knicks in the Slam Dunk Contest later this month, two years after Obi Toppin won the 2022 showcase competition.
