Knicks done hoping for injured stars to return

medical conversations or anything like that, so I don’t know s—t from s—t. But we’ve got to approach it every game at the end of this season (like) those guys aren’t coming back, and if they do, be pleasantly surprised.”

Here’s where we are on each of the Knicks’ three key injured players:

Robinson took a “wrong step” in the first half of a Dec. 8 loss to the Boston Celtics. The play resulted in a stress fracture to the star center’s left ankle. Robinson, who began the season on an historic offensive rebounding spree, missed more than three months of action and reteurned in New York’s March 27 victory over the Toronto Raptors. In the ensuing game against the Spurs, he tweaked his surgically-repaired ankle but continued to play an entire five-minute overtime stretch after Hartenstein fouled out in the fourth quarter. Robinson sat Sunday’s matchup against the Thunder with what the team listed as a sprained ankle on the injury report.

Randle dislocated his right shoulder in the final minutes of the Knicks’ Jan. 27 victory over the Miami Heat. The All-Star forward opted against season-ending surgery, choosing instead to rehab with the hopes of returning for a Knicks playoff run. The process, however, has not been as smooth as the Knicks had hoped. With nine games remaining on the regular season schedule, Randle has not yet been upgraded to taking full contact or playing five-on-five. He is strengthening his shoulder, but there is nothing resembling a definitive timeline for his injury return available.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said Anunoby

hasn’t taken contact since the last time he played in a March 16 victory over the Sacramento Kings — the third game Anunoby played after his return from early February elbow surgery. The star forward acquired in the deal with the Toronto Raptors underwent a procedure to remove a loose bone fragment from his right, shooting elbow, but he aggravated the fragile area once in each of his first two games back on the floor, most notably a swipedown on Portland’s center DeAndre Ayton in a March 14 victory over the Trail Blazers. Thibodeau said there has been no real progress on either Anunoby or Randle, but said Randle’s status can turn at any moment: “Just keep doing what he’s doing, day to day. You never know when it turns,” he said ahead of tipoff on Monday. “That’s basically the approach we take. Rehab is really your game, so put everything you have into that. And eventually you’ll get there; you can’t get discouraged; just keep working at it. The other guys, they have a job to do.”

Next up, the Knicks traveled to Miami to face the No. 7 Miami Heat on Tuesday night and suffered a 109-99 loss. The Knicks entered the matchup on a two-game skid. With the No. 5 Orlando Magic just a game behind in the standings, home-court playoff advantage is in jeopardy for a depleted New York team.

The Knicks are uncertain their stars will return to the fold, and while they refuse to use it as an excuse, they also refuse to deal in terms other than reality. And in reality, it’s hard to win big games with an AllStar

and two Defensive Player of the Year candidates out of the rotation.

“You can’t forget: We have three starters out right now, so normally you have two starters on the floor with your second group,” Thibodeau said, explaining his rotation staggering around Jalen Brunson.

“But we’ve got more than enough. … They’re sitting on top of the West. We’re a basket away from winning the ball game, and so Alexander’s shot goes out, we’re sitting here talking about a whole different narrative. And so, it didn’t, we’ve gotta regroup, go down to Miami and we’ve gotta get ready for that. And that’s the mindset I want us to have. We’ve got a resilient group, tough-minded. Sometimes you get knocked down. You’ve gotta get back up. You’ve gotta fight.”