Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks runs up the floor during a game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The New York Knicks currently find themselves on a roll during the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign. Through four games played, the ball club sports a winning record of 3-1 and is in the midst of a three-game winning streak.
This level of success is a direct result of a full team effort, with role players like Cam Reddish and Isaiah Hartenstein proving to have similar levels of impact on each game as centerpieces such as RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson.
Now, heading into game five the Knicks find themselves gearing up for arguably their biggest test of the season thus far, as they’ll be on the road to take on the reigning number three seed in the conference standings and currently undefeated Milwaukee Bucks.
Leading the charge for the 2021 NBA Champions is two-time league MVP and six-time All-NBA big man Giannis Antetokounmpo who, on the year, finds himself boasting unsurprisingly sensational averages of 36.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game on 67.7% shooting from the floor and 40.0% shooting from distance.
While to some, the concept of having to go up against a superstar of this ilk could be a bit overwhelming, Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson seems to be looking forward to the challenge of squaring off with him.
In a piece published by the Daily News on October 27, writer Stefan Bondy highlighted the 24-year-old’s recent comments about facing the Bucks and, particularly, Antetokounmpo, and stated that the opportunity is motivating for him.
“Yeah, it is more motivating. I can make my mark,” Robinson said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, bro. This is what it is. This is what I’m supposed to do.’”
Though it’s seemingly an impossible feat for a player to completely shut down the megastar, Bondy noted that Robinson believes he knows the way to contain him heading into their October 28 matchup.
“He’s running and dunking and driving in the gaps. That’s really it. You got to fill gaps, man,” Robinson said. “He’s got long legs, long arms. You got to make sure he can’t get nowhere.”
Robinson and Antetokounmpo have competed against each other on nine separate occasions, with the latter owning the winning record of 6-3 in said contests.
Knicks Big ‘Hungry’ After Contract Extension
Mitchell Robinson’s excitement about playing against Giannis Antetokounmpo should be of no surprise to anyone, as the big man has recently been on record spouting about his eagerness to continue to prove himself.
Despite having earned a lofty contract extension worth $60 million through 2026 this past summer, during a post-practice press conference on October 25 the big man discussed how he’s still ‘hungry’ to show he’s worthy of his new payday and admits that he’s not done trying to rack in new deals moving forward.
“Most people yell out ‘when you get paid you don’t want to work no more.’ But that’s the opposite of me,” Robinson said. “Even though I done got me a little bag or whatever, I’m still gonna work, even harder now because I want another… I’m hungry.”
So far on the year, Robinson finds himself putting up impressive per-game averages of 8.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 88.2%, all while serving as the anchor for the team’s eighth-ranked defensive unit, leading the starters in both defensive rating and defensive box plus-minus.
ESPN Analyst ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Knicks
Despite their hot start to the season at 3-1 and current placement as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is a bit reluctant to fully embrace New York’s 2022-23 successes.
In an October 27 episode of First Take, the “life-long” Knicks fan went on record saying that he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the ball club moving forward while suggesting that their schedule to this point has been rather easy.
“All I want to do is caution everybody,” Smith said. “Their three victories are against the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic, and a Charlotte Hornets team without [Miles] Bridges and without LaMelo Ball. And that game last night took overtime to beat [them]… Let’s pump the breaks a little bit and be cautiously optimistic.”
Currently, the combined record for each of the three teams the Knicks have beaten is 3-11, while both Detroit and Orlando, in specific, are viewed as organizations that will be looking to lose as many games as possible in an effort to secure a higher draft position come the 2023 NBA Draft.
However, even with his hesitations to have full faith in the legitimacy of the Knicks’ level of success to this point, during the episode Smith couldn’t help but gush over the team’s top-billed free agency acquisition Jalen Brunson, calling him “a real point guard” and praising him for “doing an exceptional job” serving as the team’s starting floor general.
Through four games played, Brunson is posting stellar per-game averages of 20.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and a steal on 51.7% shooting from the floor and 41.2% shooting from deep.