Mitchell Robinson increased his free throw percentage by 15 points on Friday night. He entered the game having made just six of his 27 attempts from the charity stripe, good for 22.2%. After a seven-of-eight performance against the Philadelphia 76ers, though, Robinson has now made 37.1% of his free throws this season. Although the New York Knicks lost their second game at home this year to Philadelphia, Robinson showed that he's turning the tables on his most harmful flaw as a player. Head coach Mike Brown revealed postgame that the center's recent buy-in and hard work is behind this all.
Robinson's investment in free throws is paying off
Despite the loss, Knicks head coach Mike Brown was proud to tell reporters after the game that Robinson's success at the free throw line was the product of hard work. He credited new shooting coach Peter Patton and big man coach Mark Bryant but made sure to put Robinson at the center of the praise.
"He's been working hard. It's a process. Peter Patton's done a great job with him, Mark Bryant's done a great job with him. But more importantly, Mitch has bought into what they are trying to work with him on when it comes to free-throw shooting," Brown said following the loss.
The Knicks' head coach also credited Robinson for motivating the entire team. He explained that any player seeing hard work pay off is a positive.
"It’s good to see. Anytime you can see positive results, it breeds confidence. Not just in the individual but also in the rest of the group. It’s good for him tonight, to do that," Brown told media.
Free throw improvement could define Robinson's season
The beauty of Robinson's game is in how clearly his strengths and weaknesses are. For coaches, it makes it incredibly easy to give him a defined role in which he can thrive. Robinson's rebounding, defensive instincts, size, physicality, and more make him an excellent traditional center. In a league that has moved aggressively toward shooting in recent years, he is a "throwback" big.
His biggest weakness, as a result, are free throws. In the 17 games he played last season, he was 13-19. Over larger samples, though, he hasn't been very good. Through Saturday, Robinson is a 51.5% free throw shooter over the course of his career thus far.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla employed a "Hack-a-Mitch" strategy in the second round of last year's playoffs in an attempt to neutralize the big man's impact. While the Knicks still won the series, Robinson shot just 22-56 over the course of the postseason.
The longest-tenured Knick improving this aspect of his game could mean that, outside of getting him into foul trouble, teams won't be able to keep him off of the court in the playoffs. If he can stay healthy, which New York's trainers are working to ensure, he could once again be a series-changing player for his team.