NY Knicks: Mitchell Robinson among the NBA’s best in this category

NY Knicks: Mitchell Robinson’s defense

There was something the NY Knicks were desperately missing in their playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks last season and that was defense on Clint Capela.

Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson can do a lot of this good for this team, but one thing they cannot do is match the size and athleticism of premier NBA centers. That’s what Robinson can bring to the table.

You can never fully “stop” these players, the Joel Embiids, Bam Adebayos, and Nikola Jokics of the world. You can make life difficult for them.

We saw Mitchell Robinson do exactly that in the Knicks’ last game against the Philadelphia 76ers when he was matched up with Joel Embiid.

It was exhausting just to watch. Every single possession, Robinson and Embiid were throwing shoulders, getting their arms tangled, and jostling for position, even when the play wasn’t designed for Embiid. Mitchell Robinson made him work on every single play.

Embiid finished the game with 14 points, 6 rebounds,  and 5 turnovers, a very poor game by his standards. Embiid has also been playing through injury, but if you watched that game, you saw just how more difficult it was for him to get in a groove due to Robinson’s relentless defense.

This is the Mitchell Robinson that has been developing his game over the past few seasons. Growing into a true NBA big man. An athletic rim runner who can protect the paint on defense.

It seems like Mitch has taken that next step.