This summer, Mitchell Robinson departed from the New York Knicks for new personal opportunities out in Boston. Of course, though most initially chalked up his decision to move on to a lofty $47.3 million payday, these opportunities may not be limited to just finances.
During a recent appearance on Knicks Fan TV, the big man was asked point-blank by CP "The Fanchise" about whether he feels the Celtics will stray away from New York's approach to managing his on-court usage for the sake of his long-term availability and allow him to suit up for back-to-backs.
In response, Robinson quickly shut down the notion that this same game plan will remain in effect with the C's, saying, "It ain't gonna be the same in Boston," and revealed that he'll be able to play both nights of back-to-backs this year.
As Knicks fans are well aware at this point, Robinson's limited usage when New York played on consecutive nights wasn't due to personal reasons or a belief that his skills weren't up to snuff for such a workload.
Instead, it was and has always been directly influenced by his extensive and long-standing injury history.
Should Robinson be telling the truth here, and the Celtics are, in fact, looking to play him on back-to-back nights, they could be setting themselves up for a rather unfortunate turn of events, especially with how their schedule is set up, leading the league with 16 games played on consecutive nights.
Celtics might want to re-think Knicks' approach to Mitchell Robinson
Throughout his eight seasons with the Knicks, Robinson was hobbled by injuries more often than he was seen fully active on the hardwood.
From sustaining hand fractures to undergoing multiple ankle surgeries, Big Country has been banged up in virtually every area of his body. Because of this, he's played in fewer than 65 games in six of his seasons in the pros (75 percent), and over a two-year span from 2023 through 2025, he suited up for a frighteningly low total of 48 games.
This past year was one of the most intense the Knicks were about monitoring Mitch's load management, and, in the end, he not only suited up for 60 games for just the fourth time in his career, but remained healthy (pinky finger aside) throughout the postseason and played a pivotal role in helping the team win their first NBA Championship in 53 years.
Like New York, Boston is a team gunning for glory in 2026-27. With guys like Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Derrick White leading the charge, they certainly have the kind of two-way star power necessary to make a deep playoff run.
However, as the Knicks proved over these last few seasons, having Robinson available come playoff time plays a major role in determining just how far his team will go.
With this in mind, perhaps Boston may want to consider their approach with Robinson before it's too late.
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