Missing a key player is never a good thing, but having a deep roster at least makes the absence of a starter a little bit more survivable. 

That's the situation the New York Knicks are facing right now. New York lost Josh Hart, the team's starting shooting guard, to a sprained ankle five games ago and based on a recent update, the Knicks will be without him for roughly one more week barring any more setbacks in his recovery. 

Hart was injured in the fourth quarter of a Dec. 25 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers when he went up for a layup, but got his legs tangled up with Cavaliers defenders and fell awkwardly, forcing him to leave the game. 

He's averaging 12.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. His rebounding, particularly on the defensive end, are a big loss for the Knicks while he continues to recover, but the depth and team mentality the Knick work with means that even if there is a void, it's one that will be filled with immediacy. 

"Of course we're going to miss him a lot. He's a big part of our team," Karl Anthony-Towns said (via SNY Knicks). "It's always been next man up... Tyler Kolek, Mo [Mohamaed Diawara], Ariel [Hukpori], Trey {Jemison III], Yabu [Guerschon Yabusele] and all the guys in this locker room who every time their number is called, they change the game."

Towns continued, "It's obviously tough when you have a big part of your team missing like Josh Hart, but these guys are more than capable of doing their best to fill the shoes that he leaves in this locker room and go out there and play at a high level."

Hart wasn't always a starter this season and has only started half the games he's appeared in, but his defensive efficiency and plus scoring soon firmly cemented him as the go-to shooting guard on the team and a complementary companion to star Jalen Brunson in the New York back court. 

With him out, Miles McBride will be the natural next man up to take over the starting role, but as Anthony-Towns mentioned, the Knicks have no deficit of dependable role players available to step up and play by committee. 

The Knicks have dropped three of the five games they've played since Harts' injury, so his absence is definitely being felt and having him on the court will certainly be better than trying to make up for him being out, but until he's back to 100% the Knicks can rest a little bit easier knowing they have the strength of their bench to rely on while they're playing Hart-less.