The Knicks are missing Mitchell Robinson’s physical presence

The Knicks have dropped two straight games and have been reminded of why they miss Mitchell Robinson’s physical presence in the paint. Robinson has been out of the Knicks lineup since he fractured his foot back on March 27th. Robinson had successful surgery on his foot on March 29th and while he’s never had a clear timetable for return it seems doubtful that he will be able to return this season.

After Robinson went down, the Knicks proceeded to have a big month of April where they finished with an 11-4 record. When everything is rosy and you’re winning games, it’s easy to forget about deficiencies that are being fixed with an effective bandaid. This week, the Knicks got a reminder of what they’ve been missing that their 23-year-old big man provides.

Knicks: Mitchell Robinson’s physical presence isn’t easy to replace

Mitchell Robinson had made some significant strides in his game prior to his injury. Center is the one position that no matter what is always going to take a few years to develop into an impact player in the NBA. Robinson, who didn’t play organized basketball prior to being drafted, made some nice progress in his third NBA season.

Added strength and improved positioning saw Robinson turn into an effective rim running, defensive anchor under Tom Thibodeau. His positive impact can often go unnoticed. There are important components of Mitchell Robinson’s game that can be vital to the success of the team.

Mitchell Robinson’s strength and athleticism are key to the Knicks defense

Oftentimes when we talk about big men and their role on defense, the details of their game are omitted. We tend to just focus on shot blockers.

While Robinson certainly has made a name for himself as a shot-blocker, his defense doesn’t stop there. His long frame, athletic burst, and added strength have seen him become a player who can physically match up with the best bigs in the league.

Robinson’s replacement, Nerlens Noel, has been a godsend for the Knicks. Noel has stepped up from his backup center role and been a top-tier, prolific shot-blocker. The crucial thing to note about Noel’s game is that he’s an incredibly smart defender, but not a physically dominant one.

Noel has unbelievable anticipation as a shot-blocker and swift hands even as a pick-pocket in the paint. However, he won’t jump out of the gym and he won’t body anyone. It shows up in his lack of rebounding (which I’ll get to in a bit) and when he’s tasked with defending the league’s best centers.

We’ve seen Nikola Jokic and Deandre Ayton absolutely torch Noel this week. Ayton finished with 26 and 15, with 8 points in the first 6 minutes. Nikola Jokic finished with 32 points including an embarrassing 24 in the first quarter.

You could simply say these are some of the league’s best centers and they do this all of the time, but you can’t call Nerlens Noel an All-NBA level defender if he’s getting obliterated by the league’s best. He simply doesn’t have the strength or athleticism to keep up with those guys.

Robinson’s defense had shown up as a positive in plenty of advanced metrics, and in many ways, he was an underrated defender. The improved discipline this season saw him commit fewer fouls and even become a solid pick & roll defender – he always utilizes his long reach to disrupt passing lanes and wreak havoc for both the opposing ball-handler and roll-man. He’s also not going to get bodied.

Mitchell Robinson may not be enough to completely neutralize those high-level centers, but he will make them work much harder. He is a physical specimen and it shows up on defense. It also shows up on the boards.

The Knicks’ lackluster rebounding without Mitchell Robinson

Tom Thibodeau’s team has shown tremendous heart. They’ve scrapped and clawed for loose balls all season long and the level of intensity with which they play is never in question. Even still, this team struggles to get 2nd chance points.

In the 21 games the Knicks have played since Robinson went down with his foot injury, they’ve ranked 28th in the NBA in offensive rebounding. Before Robinson went down with his first injury on February 12th (27 games), New York ranked 12th in the NBA. He IS their offensive rebounding.

Taj Gibson is yet another role player who has shattered his expectations this season. Like Noel, he’s had to step up in Robinson’s absence. Even with how well Gibson has played, it isn’t always enough. Gibson will fight for boards and bring great energy, but that can only be so much. He isn’t able to get up and down the court with the same speed as Robinson or athletically keep up with some bigger centers.

We’ve seen a few different times just how badly the Knicks can get out-rebounded. Games like the last matchup with the Celtics on April 9th, where New York finished with just 5 offensive rebounds to Boston’s 16. That game was decided by 1 point. Rebounding lost them the game.

It’s an area of the game where Mitchell Robinson can maximize his physical tools. Looking at some advanced stats – prior to getting injured, Robinson was leading the entire NBA in box-outs per game. He was also 5th in the NBA in total contested rebounds per game.

He’s proven to be an excellent rebounder dating back to last year. This season, Robinson’s 3.6 offensive rebounds per game would rank 5th in the entire NBA. 

While the young Mitchell Robinson is growing and polishing his game, he’s already made some valuable improvements this season. Between his physical tools, improved conditioning, and his growing court awareness, Robinson was on the verge of having a very positive 3rd season in the league.

It’s a reminder of how recency bias can lead to certain biases. We see the Knicks winning games with Noel as the starter, suddenly the “actually we don’t need Mitch” talk gets louder.

This article was really focused on his biggest strengths – defense and rebounding. Let’s not forget that he’s turned into a pretty nice roll-man already. Not sure any big on the Knicks has bunnies like this:

Whatever the Knicks decide to do with Mitchell Robinson this offseason, it might be in their best interest to keep him around. Not only because of what he currently brings but because of how much room there still is to grow This was just his first year under Tom Thibodeau and he could continue to blossom into an important part of the team’s future.