Knicks center Mitchell Robinson's eventual return could help team reduce points in paint allowed
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson looks on against the Nets at Madison Square Garden on Friday, April 12, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As the Knicks navigate the start of their season and try to fit all of the pieces in place, a reliable sidelight comes in the form of Mitchell Robinson’s many social media feeds. A TikTok showing him in the gym. An Instagram post bemoaning the criticism he hears. A Snapchat of him promising to be back.
And while Robinson’s struggles with injuries and his offensive limitations frustrate fans, it doesn’t mean they aren’t eagerly awaiting his return.
The Knicks announced during the summer that Robinson will be sidelined until at least December or January after ankle surgery, and there has been no hint that he’ll be back before then. The Knicks hope the time off after his latest surgery will allow him to get past the troubles that have plagued big men such as Greg Oden and Yao Ming.
But as Karl-Anthony Towns already has shown that he can be the offensive boost the Knicks hoped he would be, it’s also apparent why the Minnesota Timberwolves surrendered a huge haul to trade for Rudy Gobert during Towns’ tenure there.
“I’ve had moments even the last two years where I had to play the 5, Rudy being hurt or just the season,” Towns said. “I mean, but I’ve done it for so long. I don’t just lose the ability to play the 5.
“Preseason was great for me: new team, new guys and you would say a new position, but reverting back to an old position. Just being able to do what I did a lot of years at the 5 and I feel I’m a better version of myself. I’m smarter, more experienced, I think I’m more talented than I’ve ever been. So being able to utilize that for our team is what I want to do every single night so it can translate to wins.”
In the opening eight games of the season, Towns has allowed the opposition to finish within six feet at a 79.5% rate — at the bottom of the NBA for players 6-10 or over. His backup, Jericho Sims, is atop the league right now — allowing only 36.8% — and there are legitimate reasons, including small sample size and playing limited minutes against mostly backup units. Robinson hasn’t played at all this season and sparingly last season, but in 2022-23, he allowed only 57.3% within six feet.
“The best way to prevent that shot is to keep the ball out of the paint,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “If you can minimize the shots that are [at] the rim, that means your shell is tight and you’ve done a good job in that area . . . Those are things we want to continue to work on. There’s a long way to go. We know we’re not going to get there in a day and we’ve got to concentrate on daily improvement and we need to shore some areas up.”
Thibodeau isn’t wrong. The Knicks do have some elite perimeter defenders in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. Anunoby has the ability to defend taller players and in recent seasons has taken turns on Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. On Friday he was tasked with guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo and helped limit the Bucks star to something below his usual dominant performance.
“OG is very unique in the terms that he’s got strength, he’s got speed, he’s got anticipation,” Thibodeau said. “He’s got a second-, third-effort mentality. I think that goes a long way. A lot of the things he does for the team really go unnoticed. But I think his teammates have great appreciation for him. You can’t measure all the little things on every possession he does.
“The same with Mikal. Mikal takes on whoever the primary ballhandler is and he works at it all game long and keeps coming. I think that says a lot about him.
“Josh is going to hustle and get the loose balls and push the pace and do what he does. If we do that and everyone commits to their strengths and playing defense, we can be good. But we know right now we are shorthanded, so we have to play real hard and rebound the ball. We have to do that as a team.”
But teams are showing little hesitance to attack the Knicks at the rim. In the last week, Houston had 62 points in the paint and Atlanta had 58. Even in the one-sided win over Milwaukee on Friday, the Knicks allowed 54 points in the paint.
Robinson not only would provide a change of pace in the middle but could allow Towns to shift his offensive skill set to power forward, where he is no less dangerous.
Big Carmelo fan
Towns, who grew up in Central New Jersey (yes, Central Jersey exists despite Jalen Brunson’s arguments), was helped to his feet after an early dunk Friday by Carmelo Anthony, who was seated courtside.
“You can find out in interviews I’m a huge Carmelo Anthony fan,” Towns said. “Melo’s been a huge part of my childhood and playing basketball, and if I could have the career he’s had, I’d be very blessed and honored to even be close to one of the greatest of all time.
“It’s cool when I was able to see Melo on the court and play against him. But in a weird way, to be here in New York, be a Knick and to be with one of the greatest Knicks of all time in my childhood and my life, it’s been pretty cool.”
No shot
Jericho Sims has played 110 minutes this season and has produced some statistical oddities.
In the Knicks’ last two losses, he was a team-best +14 in Houston and a +7 in Atlanta, second-best to Deuce McBride. Then, in the Knicks’ one-sided win over Milwaukee, he was a -2 in 16 minutes.
The other part of his game that has been odd for a player who has shown hints of offensive talent is that he has attempted only eight shots in the 110 minutes.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.