Last March after Mitchell Robinson went down with a fractured foot against the Milwaukee Bucks, just three games after he returned from a hand injury, many fans weren’t sure about Nerlens Noel’s ability to replace him.
In the following two months, as the playoffs rapidly approached, Noel proved to both fans and critics that he was a top-tier rim protector, averaging over 2.5 blocks a game across the final 18 games of the season.
His performances down the stretch earned him a three-year contract with the NY Knicks worth up to $31 million.
Now that Mitchell Robinson is back and fully healthy to start the new season, the question arises…
How do you balance minutes between the two?
Who should the NY Knicks start at Center this season?
Robinson is entering into his fourth NBA season and is still only 23-years-old.
While he’s not yet a weapon on offense, he is a great finisher around the rim and a lob threat at all times, standing at 7-feet tall.
Notably, Derrick Rose has only played two full games with Robinson due to injuries between the two.
Playing with and catching lobs from Rose for a full season will go a long way towards furthering Robinson’s development, similar to how the addition of Chris Paul in Phoenix has helped DeAndre Ayton expand his game.
At the same time, Noel has more than proved he deserves his minutes. He was the only player in the NBA last season to average at least two blocks and a steal and he was often the backbone defensively for the Knicks.
He’s also getting paid close to $10 million a year and it’s not to be a benchwarmer.
I’m going to take a look at why each guy deserves to play and how I think the Knicks should balance their playing time.
Making the case for NY Knicks’ Center Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson is one of the most promising young stars on the Knicks and one of the brightest young centers in the league.
For the unacquainted, he led the entire NBA in field goal percentage in 2019-20.
Last season he was rather plagued by injuries only playing in 31 games, and because of that, it was also the first season that he averaged under two blocks per game.
That goes to show just good Robinson has the potential to be, especially on the defensive end of the floor where he is a demon.
Robinson has finished above the league average in defensive rating and defensive rebounding percentage every season he’s played in.
To take it a step further, amongst players who played at least 50 games in 2019-20, Robinson was top-5 in contested defensive rebound percentage.
Robinson also finished top-5 in the league in blocks each of his first two seasons.
All that to say he’s a fantastic defender, especially in and around the paint. Anyone who attacks the rim against the Knicks this year should prepare to have their shot spiked back the other way.
It’s on the offensive end where Knicks fans are still waiting to see Robinson blossom.
In 2019-20, Robinson averaged 9.7 points and in his 31 games last season, Robinson averaged 8.3 points. Nothing that leaps off the screen.
Despite his low-scoring numbers, Robinson can still be potent on offense.
At 7-feet tall and with a 7-foot 4-inch wingspan he’s always a lob threat and especially for his age he’s a good finisher around the basket.
As I mentioned before, getting some time in with Derrick Rose (and Kemba Walker) as his point guard will go a long way towards helping him shape his offensive game.
At least on the surface level, Rose’s passing ability should help to unlock Mitch even more on offense.
And to be honest he doesn’t need to be much of a scorer.
With Randle, Barrett, Rose, Burks, and new additions Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier all more than capable of putting the ball in the basket, efficiency and defense should be the main factors by which fans judge Robinson.
So where does all this leave Mitch in terms of minutes?
I don’t think there’s a whole lot of debate over who will be starting at center on Oct. 20 against the Celtics, after a full preseason, the job will surely be Robinson’s.
And at 23-years-old he needs to be both starting and playing to get any better. Robinson hasn’t even played 160 games in his career yet.
Thibodeau seems to agree with that sentiment, playing Robinson 27.5 minutes per game in his 31 appearances last season, four minutes more than he played the season before.
Much of this was before the emergence of Nerlens Noel, however, who finished last season averaging 24 minutes per game.
I think Thibodeau should continue in the direction he was going and give Robinson around 27 minutes per game.
He’s never played that much across a full season so it will give him more NBA experience than he’s ever gained in a previous season, as well as leave enough minutes for Nerlens Noel to make an impact off the bench.
This will be a big year for Robinson’s development, and he needs to continue to gain experience playing against the league’s best big men if he ever wants to become one.
Making the case for NY Knicks’ Center Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel signed with the Knicks in November 2020 on a 1-year, $5 million deal.
Signed as a backup to Robinson, Noel stepped up big time when Robinson went down and continued the defensive dominance in the paint at MSG.
Standing at 6-feet 11-inches tall and with a 7-foot 4-inch wingspan Noel is a giant like Robinson.
His wingspan is obviously a major factor in his rim-protecting abilities, and protecting the rim is what Noel does best.
I talked a lot about Mitchell Robinson’s blocking ability, but Nerlens Noel has proven himself as an elite shot blocker.
Last season Noel finished third in the NBA in blocks per game with 2.2, behind only Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert.
Perhaps even more impressively Noel finished first in the entire NBA in defensive rating (amongst players who started at least one game).
Although his playoff performances weren’t as impressive as the regular season, he was playing a reduced role.
When many feared the Knicks’ rock-solid defense might crack with the loss of Robinson, Nerlens Noel came in and made it even more solid.
On offense, Noel played a very similar role to Robinson just slightly quieter. Lots of buckets around the rim, dunks, and lobs.
While Noel shot an impressive 65% from the field, he did take fewer shots than Robinson averaged in any season on the Knicks.
Even once he was starting, he just wasn’t as impactful on offense as Robinson (some of that could be attributed to the addition of Rose’s scoring to the lineup).
His performances in Robinson’s stead earned him a well-deserved three-year deal worth up to $31 million, with the third year being a team option.
So, after resigning, I think Noel deserves to have a big role on this team and has a ton to offer defensively.
As I said before, I think Robinson should play around 27 minutes per game which leaves about 20 minutes per game for Noel to lock down opposing big men.
It’s a decrease from his minutes last season, but I think to facilitate the continued development of Mitch, he’s going to have to play less.
He will be an elite defender off the bench as well as an aerial threat with Rose and Immanuel Quickley teeing up dunks for him with their often intoxicating passing ability.
Tom Thibodeau’s defensive strategy won’t fall off a bit with Noel stepping in for Robinson throughout the game.
Having a one-two punch of a healthy Robinson as a starting center and Noel off the bench will make for one of the best defensive frontcourt units in the league.
While not old, Noel has been around the league and can hopefully teach Robinson a few things as he grows into a potentially elite center.
Knicks fans are excited to (hopefully) get another full season of Mitchell Robinson and to watch how he develops, and they should have the peace of mind knowing when he’s not on the court, Nerlens Noel will be.