Obi Toppin underwent a re-evaluation and is “getting better,” but the power forward acknowledged Tuesday that he likely requires a “couple more re-evaluations” before returning from the fractured bone in his right leg.
Now about three weeks into his rehab, Toppin said his workouts are still limited to spot-up shooting, pool work and upper-body weightlifting.
“Not really any pain, but I could not feel pain and it could still be messed up,” Toppin said in his first interview since the injury. “So it’s all up to [the Knicks medical staff]. Whenever they feel I should be back, that’s when I’ll come back.”
Toppin has missed 10 straight games since appearing to collide with teammate Isaiah Hartenstein on Dec. 7 against the Hawks. Toppin said he believed the resulting pain was merely a bruise, which is why he kept playing for four minutes after the collision.
“But it wasn’t a bruise,” Toppin said. “I had to come out.”
Toppin was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his fibula head, according to the Knicks, who originally said Toppin would be re-evaluated in “2-3 weeks.”
hasn’t been a formal update since the re-evaluation.
“It’s a non-weight-bearing bone in your leg from what I know,” Toppin said. “And it only uses 10 percent of your body weight. The top of it — the fibular head bone — was fractured a little bit. And so that’s basically it.”
Toppin’s absence has meant greater minutes and production for starter Julius Randle. Entering Tuesday’s matchup against the Mavericks, Randle was averaging 27.1 points, 11 rebounds and 37 minutes since Toppin’s injury.
Jericho Sims replaced Toppin in the rotation but with a lesser role. The Knicks were 6-3 without Toppin before the Mavericks game.
“[Randle’s] been playing great for us. He needs to keep doing that for sure,” Toppin said. “And we’re going to be a really good team when we all get together.”
In the bigger picture, Toppin, the eighth overall pick in 2020, is eligible for a contract extension after this season but doesn’t have a pathway to big minutes as long as Randle’s on the roster. His numbers were down from last season even before the injury.
There’s also the question of whether Toppin’s knee injury will prevent him from defending the Slam Dunk title, which he won at the last All-Star weekend.
“I don’t know about that one yet,”
First things first — he has to start running.
“I’m not frustrated but I definitely want to be out there with those guys,” Toppin said. “But things happen. You just got think positive. Good things will happen.”
**COURTSIDE CONTROVERSY**
The last time Julius Randle was inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, he sat front row at a Mavericks-Jazz playoff game.
His appearance that April night caused a stir — not because of Randle, who is a Dallas native and resident, but because he was accompanied by Knicks executives William Wesley and Alan Houston. The stunt was interpreted as an old-school recruiting maneuver since the two Knicks offseason targets — Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell — were both playing.
After all, it’s rare to see opposing executives so prominent at such a game. Randle claimed Tuesday it was just a coincidence.
“I didn’t even know [Wesley and Houston] were in town,” he said. “Just so happened to happen like that.”
Mavs owner Mark Cuban said over the summer that he didn’t have an issue with the Knicks courtside spectacle, although prominent members of the Jazz reportedly were upset.
“I don’t give a s–t. Why would I care?” Cuban said.
The Knicks eventually signed Brunson away from the Mavericks and were penalized a second-round pick for tampering. They tried to trade for Mitchell before Jazz president Danny Ainge dealt him to the Cavaliers.
by ReturnOfAKidNamedTae
4 Comments
Miss you Obi! Take your time, come back 100%
I fractured my leg and couldn’t do anything for like 6 weeks. I don’t know how some people were thinking he would be back to playing sooner.
Damn this sucks. Feel better Obi!
Zero rush