After the New York Knicks won their fourth-straight game on Sunday, Mike Brown was once again left in awe at Mitchell Robinson's row in the box score. Robinson recorded eight points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Most impressive, though, was his plus-minus of +40 for the night.
Brown said after the game that he doesn't depend much on plus-minus as a statistic. He also took the time to admit that even he had to credit Robinson's marks as incredible.
"Another amazing stat, you know, he keeps throwing up these stats that are amazing," Brown said postgame before cutting himself off to read through Robinson's box score and emphatically conclude with his +40 plus-minus.
The victory was over the crosstown Brooklyn Nets and improved the Knicks' record to 6-3, with all six wins coming from home games. Robinson played just 16:36, making the point differential in those minutes even more ridiculous. Brown went on to say as much to reporters at the arena.
"To impact the game that way... And again, I'm not a huge believer in it," Brown said of the often-fickle plus-minus, "but to see a number like that in the short amount of time that he played, uh, is just amazing."
Keeping Mitchell Robinson healthy has to be a priority for the Knicks
Amazing was Brown's word of choice to describe on Sunday night. Last Wednesday, after the Knicks handily beat the Timberwolves at home, it was "shocked."
"I thought Mitch had like nine blocks, or ten blocks—I was shocked he only had three—but Mitch was all over the place, he was guarding everybody. [He was] contesting shots, blocking shots," Brown admitted.
Robinson's three blocks in 16 minutes paled in comparison to his extraordinary control of the offensive glass that night. The 27-year-old snagged 10 rebounds in time on the court, with nine of them earning the Knicks another half-court scoring opportunity.
The Knicks' longest-tenured player has shown his ability to change opposing team's gameplans, even in playoff situations. He's averaging 12.6 offensive rebounds per 75 possessions in the first four games he's played in this season. This makes getting him to the postseason healthy a priority.
Giving the big man the best chances at good health in April, May, and potentially June could mean continuing to sit back-to-backs or playing in short stints. Only playoff results will prove these sacrifices worthwhile. Until then, it seems Robinson is going to keep stuffing stat sheets against whatever opponent is in front of him. If he keeps playing like this, and stays healthy, Mike Brown might run out of adjectives soon.