The Knicks begin life without starting center Mitchell Robinson as he fractured his thumb in Wednesday's puzzling home loss to Washington. He will probably miss about a month. Robinson averages 7.2 points on 67.4% shooting (mostly dunks and putbacks), 8.9 rebounds (No. 2 in NBA in offensive rebounds per game) and 1.8 blocks (fifth in NBA). New York is 4-4 without him this year and all four losses were by double digits. The Knicks’ offensive rating with Robinson is 118.0, nearly eight points higher than when he is off the court. The Hawks are on a season-high four-game winning streak and averaging 119.5 points on .524 FG% in that span. Atlanta also seems overdue a home win in this series, dropping the past four (first meeting there this season).