Robinson lands on COVID list

The new year has started off in a bad way and the Knicks haven’t played a game yet in 2022. Kemba Walker’s left knee is still barking and COVID-19 still is raging.

And now, center Mitchell Robinson is in COVID-19 protocols, the team announced Saturday. That makes three of their centers in the protocols, meaning the Knicks will likely have to sign a big man as a replacement player.

The Knicks also announced, as expected, that Walker will miss Sunday’s game at Toronto due to his sore left knee, raising more alarm bells.

Walker was shut down after doing something to his knee during pregame warmups in Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve. Afterward, coach Tom Thibodeau said Walker would have to undergo testing, presumably an MRI exam. Thibodeau was unsure if the problem was serious.

Walker was coming off playing a back-to-back at Minnesota and Detroit in which he logged 53 minutes. (He didn’t play any back-to-backs last season with the Celtics, on the advice of Boston’s medical staff.)

Since his resurrection in Boston on Dec. 18, Walker had averaged 35.2 minutes in six games. But the Knicks are deep at guard. They no longer have that advantage at center.

With Nerlens Noel and Jericho Sims also in the protocols, the Knicks will have to start Taj Gibson at center. Obi Toppin also will get his second start at power forward for COVID-stricken Julius Randle.

The Knicks don’t have a center on their roster as a backup and may have to go small before they get anyone eligible for Sunday’s game due to Canada’s tight testing restrictions for entry into the country.

The Knicks have had 11 players enter COVID-19 protocols since their return from Toronto on Dec. 10.

Currently, the COVID list includes Randle, Noel, Sims, Wayne Selden and Robinson. The Knicks also have two assistants out with COVID: Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne.

The Raptors no longer have any players in COVID protocols. The game Sunday will be played before no fans after Toronto ownership announced it will stage games before empty arenas. The Canadian government had capped capacity at 1,000, but management took it a step further.

The Knicks entered 2022 at 17-19 — tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference with Boston. It’s a disappointing start to the season, considering they were 41-31 last season, but it’s hardly catastrophic.