New York Knicks: Who stepped up in win against Mavericks?

1. Mitchell Robinson

New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale raised a few eyebrows before this game, when he alluded to Marc Berman of The New York Post that Mitchell Robinson would remain the starting center. There was no longer mention of a G League stint.

"“He’s going to be our foundation, our anchor of our defense for the future. Let’s get this guy going right now and really commit to the development of these guys and to what it’s going to take to get them to where they need to be for us to be the team we’re going to be later.”"

That doesn’t sound like a player leaving his role anytime soon, and someone who will maintain development in the NBA and not in Westchester.

Well, given what happened against the Mavericks, Robinson supported Fizdale’s high praise.

In his best game yet, the 20-year-old center had 13 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes — just short of Damyean Dotson for the game-high. It marked his first double-double and on-court time of 30-plus minutes.

This was at the downside of Enes Kanter, who still logged 20 minutes, but had a shorter on-court time than his younger teammate for the first time this season.

Stat line aside, visually, Robinson’s moves teased his freakish athletic potential as a 7-foot-1 center. That included this rise-from-your-seat dunk:

That won’t be the last time Knicks fans witness moments like this from the 2018 second-round pick.

This game may have placed Robinson’s stranglehold on the center spot, without factoring Fizdale’s words. Double-doubles won’t happen every night, given the inevitable rookie hurdles that arise, but the fact these standout performances are already happening bodes well.