New York Knicks: 4 promising takeaways from the preseason
1) Mitchell Robinson’s Fouling
Many fans were disappointed to see Nerlens Noel starting over Mitchell Robinson to begin the preseason, but it became clear that foul troubles remained an issue for the young center. The 22-year old had nine personal fouls over his first two games, and things looked disappointing when he quickly racked up five more through three quarters in his third matchup.
However, something changed. Thibodeau decided to play Robinson for the entire fourth quarter despite the fact that one more penalty would end his night.
From that point on, he didn’t pick up a single personal foul during the 39 minutes that he played throughout the rest of the preseason. Over those same 39 minutes, he recorded 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks on 83 percent shooting.
He’ll still likely be prone to fouling on some nights, but it’s great to see him shake off the rust after a slow start in the first two and a half games. His head coach seems to agree.
Thibs calls Mitchell Robinson's performance tonight "terrific." Notes that he's been staying late, working extra hard behind the scenes, etc. Sounds very impressed.
— Jonathan Macri (@JCMacriNBA) December 19, 2020
If he continues to impress Thibodeau with hard work in practice, there’s a good chance that he’ll finally play himself into the starting center spot after two years as a backup. Robinson has always been an extremely efficient player on both sides of the ball, if he can stay on the court for around 30 minutes each night it would help the Knicks exponentially.