The NY Knicks have a breakout player on their hands in Mitchell Robinson.
The 4th-year center has started all four games to start the season and looks to have put any questions about his importance to the team to bed.
NY Knicks: Mitchell Robinson has arrived
There was plenty of mystery surrounding Mitchell Robinson in the weeks prior to the start of the 2021-22 season.
The big man’s contract extension was being weighed by the front office (it still is) and he had been working his way back from a fractured foot that had kept him out of NBA action since March.
There were questions as to how involved the big-man would be entering the season. He didn’t see any action until the team’s final preseason game.
He was supposedly being eased back into the lineup and still dealing with his injury.
With Nerlens Noel sidelined due to his own injury and Taj Gibson missing the beginning of the season with the birth of his child, Robinson had no choice but to be thrust right into a prominent starting role.
He has been up to challenge, and he is now among the league leaders in a few key categories.
NY Knicks: Mitchell Robinson among NBA’s top rebounders
Mitchell Robinson has been a beast. A wrecking ball in the paint.
Rebounds are not a glory stat. They come from ugly, physical battles away from the ball. Mitchell Robinson is currently 6th in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game.
He is 5th in the NBA in contested offensive rebounds.
This is a NY Knicks team that features a lineup of shooters. With the exception of the Julius Randle/Obi Toppin frontcourt lineups, most Knicks lineups have a similar level of floor spacing with multiple ball handlers in the backcourt, a stretch-4, and a scrappy center in the middle.
Mitch has embraced his role as the big man who does the ugly things that help the team win. He is a massive human, from his weight to his wingspan to his leaping ability, he is very difficult to match from a physical standpoint.
When I say his impact doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, that means the rebounds too.
Yes, he’s among the league leaders in offensive rebounds per game, but he is currently leading the entire league in box-outs per game. He led the league in that same category last season prior to being injured.
Robinson’s role as a bruiser in the paint is something you don’t realize you miss until it’s gone. Long gone are the days where people think Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson can have the same impact as Robinson, or that what he does on the court is easily replaceable.
It’s not the only area of the game where he has excelled thus far.
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.