Knicks' Mitchell Robinson journeys from bad old days to good times
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson dunks during the first half of Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday in Indianapolis. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
INDIANAPOLIS
It was win or go home. Two more times. Can you think of any bigger pressure than that heading into a playoff game?
OK, there is one player on the Knicks’ roster who can. Mitchell Robinson is the one player who knows that there is something much more stressful in basketball than having to beat the Indiana Pacers two more times to advance to the NBA Finals.
Try the stress of being a rookie on a 17-win Knicks team. Try the stress of going an entire month without a win, of showing up and playing every day for a team that has an 18-game losing streak. Try the stress of being a second-round draft choice playing for three different coaches in your first three years in the league.
Robinson, as the longest-tenured Knick, was here in the bad old days, which probably is why on the morning of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday, he had a unique appreciation for the situation in which the team found itself.
“Seen it all,” said Robinson, who played in 66 games in his rookie season of 2018-19. “It’s been amazing. A journey. From 17 wins to 50. Been here for a while. So now just coming together.”
The Knicks took the court Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse looking to extend their season, having already survived elimination at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 and hoping to force a Game 7 in New York.
The fact that the Knicks were even in this position — two wins away from playing in their first NBA Finals since Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby were running the floor and Jeff Van Gundy was the coach in 1998-99 — would have been inconceivable five years ago. It was the year when the Knicks followed a 17-win season with a 21-win season that included the firing of coach David Fizdale and then half a season under an interim coach named Mike Miller.
The franchise started to turn around the next year when the Knicks hired coach Tom Thibodeau, but it didn’t take a huge step forward until they signed Jalen Brunson in 2022. Brunson took the Knicks to the Eastern Conference semifinals in each of his first two years.
In the offseason, the Knicks reconfigured their roster with the hope of making the Knicks a contender, trading for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. It proved to be enough to get the Knicks past the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Yet Knicks fans were so giddy over that victory that everyone seemed to assume that the Pacers would be a much easier task.
That quickly proved not to be so when Indiana took a 2-0 series lead, winning the first two games at the Garden. Fans haven’t quite gotten over the way the Knicks lost Game 1, blowing a nine-point lead in the final 58 seconds, but they have shown both resilience and flexibility since then, reconfiguring their starting lineup so that they could start Robinson alongside Towns.
Because Robinson missed most of the season while rehabilitating after offseason ankle surgery, he and Towns played only 47 minutes together in the regular season. In the playoffs, they entered Saturday’s game having played 144 minutes together, and the Knicks were a plus-38 when they did.
Robinson’s presence has caused some significant matchup problems for the Pacers both on offense and defense. His prowess on the glass — he was the leading offensive rebounder in the NBA playoffs with 62 despite playing only 340 minutes — has forced Indiana to put multiple defenders on him, making it harder for them to push the ball back up the floor.
“I’ve a video where they had three or four guys on me at one point,” Robison said. “You know, that’s something they have to do. And it helps a lot. Because I’m going to the glass every time.”
Robinson’s ability to protect the rim also has made it possible for Knicks defenders to push up toward the perimeter, knowing that they have him behind them.
“I’m the last line of defense out there,” he said. “When they have trust in me that I’m out there protecting the rim, that just helps them be more aggressive on the ball. And it helps out a lot. So I’m going to be there.”
Trying to win with a team that has the potential to be special, if not this season then next. Having lived through the dark years, Robinson couldn’t hope for more.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
