One of the biggest parts of the New York Knicks' playoff success in recent years, no pun intended, has been center Mitchell Robinson. After missing him for 116 games over the last two seasons, the Knicks have been holding the big man out of back to backs so far this year. Even now that the All-Star break is over, fans can seemingly expect two more months of load management before the playoffs begin. The Knicks are leaving little room for error, or injury, and need to hope the strategy works.
Robinson's load management is part of Knicks' process-pivot
The Knicks are focused on their process and optimizing it by the playoffs. The hiring of Mike Brown last offseason demonstrated this. The results were there, but the process could have been better. So they acted like it.
Their recent pivot to a philosophy that prioritizes having data and preserving players' health moreso than the team did before, despite it potentially coming at the cost of regular season wins, cemented this. Part of that philosophy, and part of that preservation of health, has included the load management plan that Robinson is undergoing.
Not playing in back-to-backs as a means of helping ensure that the center's body isn't overworked at any point of the regular season, far before the playoff environments that he's impacted so immensely over the course of his years in New York. This is a sacrifice that the team, Robinson, and his representation are clearly willing to make.
The center has told reporters that, while he was frustrated at first about not being out there every game, he understands that this might just be what it takes to get him to the postseason with his health.
Ultimately, the frustration of missing 16 of the team's 55 games thus far likely does not outweigh the potential frustration of a season-ending injury because Robinson pushed himself too hard on a Wednesday night in December.
Knicks leaving little room for error with Robinson plan, but there's time
The problem with this approach is that it leaves little room for error. It's easy for fans to get frustrated about Robinson missing games throughout the course of the regular season, or the team losing games that they would have typically won in the past. But it would all be worth it if the Knicks are able to deliver the playoff success that Brown was hired to help guide them to.
If they can't, or if Robinson simply suffers an unlucky injury, it's just as easy to see fans being frustrated about the sacrifices made throughout the year not paying off at all come playoff time. Ultimately, that's a risk the Knicks are willing to take. And the ceiling they determined themselves as having under Tom Thibodeau wasn't good enough for them to keep him around.
Brown's contract doesn't expire after this season, and neither do those of the vast majority of his rotation. The Knicks will have some time to prove their case – even if it feels urgent.