Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Nurse, M. Brown, Vucevic

The Knicks have ruled backup center Mitchell Robinson out for Game 2 against the Sixers due to an illness, SNY’s Ian Begley writes (Twitter link). He had previously been listed as questionable.

Robinson played just 12 minutes in Game 1, limited by foul trouble as well as the Sixers’ decision to intentionally foul him early in the game to take advantage of his 37.7% career playoff percentage from the free-throw line. He went 0-for-4, but Philadelphia did not go back to the strategy in the second half.

With Robinson on the bench, Knicks head coach Mike Brown turned to second-year center Ariel Hukporti, playing him almost as many minutes in the series opener (17) as he did in the entire first-round matchup against the Hawks (19). Hukporti also picked up four fouls, but contributed nine rebounds and two blocks.

With Joel Embiid ruled out due to ankle and hip injuries, New York will hope that their defensive-minded big man will not be as sorely missed as he would be otherwise.

We have more notes from around the Atlantic Division:

• Sixers‘ head coach Nick Nurse is back after a brief absence to mourn the unexpected loss of his older brother. He says that his brother would want him back with the team, per the Associated Press. “I’m here coaching and my brother would expect me to be,” Nurse said. “He was a huge fan. He wants us to go play, he wants us to play hard, so that’s what we’re going to try to do tonight.”
• Brown isn’t burdened by the weight of the championship mandate from the Knicks‘ leadership, because he already puts the same pressure on himself, Zach Braziller writes for the New York Post. “It doesn’t matter what others say. I’m disappointed if we’re not in the Finals and having a chance to win it,” he said. Brown is known for his steady temperament; it’s something the players admire about him. “He doesn’t listen to the outside noise and doesn’t let that affect him. And he’s focused every day on how he can come in and make this team better,” Josh Hart said. “He listens to his coaches and listens to us with our feedback and what we have to say and asks us questions and stuff like that.”
• After being eliminated in the first round by the Sixers, the Celtics have personnel decisions to make as they try to rebuild a championship roster around their core players. Nikola Vucevic will be a key factor in their offseason as his $21.5MM deal comes off the books this summer. President Brad Stevens spoke about the mid-year edition, though he stopped short of offering insight into the team’s plans. “I thought that Vooch gave us all that he had and, did what we asked…” Stevens said. “I have a lot of respect for Vooch as a person and as a pro. I thought he was really good in our locker room. I thought he was a really good person to have around. Certainly, a positive experience with him.”