The biggest failure of Tom Thibodeau's last season was arguably how few possessions Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson were on the floor with true floor spacers. Now, with Mike Brown at the helm, the Knicks face the possibility of repeating that failure if Mitchell Robinson takes the final starting spot.
The logic for starting Robinson is fairly simple. He can take over a game through dominating the offensive glass in a way that only a handful of players have ever been able to do, he provides the Knicks with vertical spacing as a lob threat, and he is a premier defender and rim protector who can help insulate some of the Knicks' other weaker defenders.
However, the Knicks want to lean into spacing concepts, 3-point shooting, and up their tempo, none of which Robinson does. The Knicks can only go as far as Towns and Brunson lead them, and the Knicks can't afford to provide them with inopportune spacing once again.
Brunson and Towns rarely had floor spacers around them
Last season, Towns set only 59 picks for Brunson all season when Josh Hart, Robinson, and Precious Achiuwa were all on the bench. That is a shockingly low number, and one that shows how often they were forced to work with a shrunken floor.
Those 59 picks accounted for a mere 7.2 percent of the total picks that Towns set for Brunson last season, which is a catastrophic failure on the part of the coaching staff. The Knicks are built on the backs of Brunson and Towns; it is mind-blowing not to optimize the spacing around them for them to succeed.
Robinson can still be featured
Starting with Robinson isn't as important as finishing with him. The Knicks will rely on Robinson's defense to close out games this season, just as they did in the playoffs last season. That said, for the meat of games, the greatest concern needs to be getting willing shooters and floor spacers around Brunson and Towns as often as possible.
The Knicks can't say they have a personnel issue, especially after this offseason. They have added numerous high-level shooters, including Guerschon Yabusele, Jordan Clarkson, and Malcolm Brogdon. They have the players to successfully stretch the floor whenever they want to; now it comes down to whether or not Mike Brown and the new coaching staff learn from the failures of Thibodeau and those that came before them.