New York Knicks: Five realistic goals for rest of 2018-19

4. Uncover Mitchell Robinson’s freakish upside

The New York Knicks opened 2018-19 with a handful of intriguing rookies. Kevin Knox displayed scoring upside, and Allonzo Trier rose from undrafted to rotation player in a blink. Perhaps the most upside of the bunch, though, was Mitchell Robinson — the center that skipped college in 2017-18.

Glimpses were shown from Robinson in the season’s first half. His nine blocks in a November game against the Orlando Magic was awe-inspiring and a double-double happened in just his fourth start.

However, head coach David Fizdale removed the young big man as a starter because of consistent foul trouble. Along with an injury, the hype slowly tapered, until a return in January brought out the best in the 20 year old’s game.

With blocks galore and improving position rebounding, Robinson shined, and with little foul trouble. Once DeAndre Jordan arrived and became a tutor, the former Western Kentucky commit has taken off offensively, averaging 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.

Whether Jordan’s work incited this or not, Robinson seemed to tap into some of this unknown potential at a not-so-coincidental moment. It’s an obvious position for his development, and something the Knicks should continue to build upon.

With playing 15 to 25 minutes per game, Robinson has enough time to find a rhythm in each game. It’s not a start-and-stop like other youth on the roster. Finding consistent playing time allows him to settle in and work from there, which should be a priority through April.