From an all-around standpoint, Mitchell Robinson just had one of his biggest games of the season for the New York Knicks. Although the club fell short in its Wednesday bout with the playoff-bound Grizz, the big man played his role in the pivot to perfection.
In 30 minutes of play, Robinson put up 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added 11 rebounds and a whopping eight blocked shots. Meanwhile, New York actually outscored Memphis by a point when he was on the floor — in a game that was lost by double digits.
This kind of effort is becoming the norm once again for the 23-year-old, who has struggled to stay healthy at times. Now, though, he’s nearing 100% and giving fans the same soft, fuzzy feelings they received during his first two years-plus in the NBA.
According to one team insider, Robinson is giving management some things to think about, too.
To Extend or Not to Extend
In a piece looking at Robinson’s big night, his season and his looming unrestricted free agency, the New York Post’s Marc Berman casually dropped the following assessment of the big man’s prospects:
“Mitchell Robinson is starting to play his way into a contract extension,” he wrote, pointedly.
Given the Knicks’ cap situation, it’s a wild scenario to think about. Robinson is eligible for a four-year $55 million extension; whether he can actually get that kind of deal remains to be seen, but the floor seems to be a contract worth at least $10 million per annum.
Even that number limits some of the Knicks’ flexibility and puts them closer to the luxury tax than they ought to be for a club that currently sits in the No. 12 spot in the Eastern Conference. A more prudent move may just be to deal Robinson at the deadline and get something out of him before he walks.
On the other hand — as Berman asserts — his level of play may just warrant the cap hit.
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What He’s Been Doing to the Opposition
Since January 8, Robinson has started in all 12 of the games that he has played and averaged 11.4 points (on 82.6% from the floor), 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per contest. Over that span, the Knicks have been 4.1 points per 100 possessions better when he has been on the court.
His rim-running prowess and potential as a paint protector — especially after an eight-block game — have been gotten extra notice of late. And the difference he makes as a rebounder continues to be apparent, too.
Robinson’s offensive rebounding percentage of 15.6% currently stands as the No. 2 mark league-wide. And when the big man is on the court, the team’s overall rebounding rate jumps to 52.1%. For frame of reference, the Grizzlies’ NBA-best rebounding percentage checks in at 52.4%.
This is all occurring while Robinson says he still has some recovering to do, too.
“Not all the way yet, but close to it,’’ he said, via The Post, when asked if he was back to full health. “Once I get back in shape I’m going to be a problem.”
He may just be right, and the Knicks may just find themselves paying him as a result.
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