Getty Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks reacts on the sidelines against the Denver Nuggets.
When it comes to this 2022-23 New York Knicks team, there’s no denying that they boast one of the more highly versatile assortments of talents in the association.
With 6-foot-8 power forwards that possess the court vision of floor generals and 6-foot-1 guards with the finishing skills of a big man, the majority of Tom Thibodeau’s collection of ballers has an incredibly deep bag of tricks that they can seemingly tap into on any given night.
And then there’s starting center Mitchell Robinson who, to this point in his career, has yet to show that he can expand beyond his current role as a lob-catching, rim-protecting enforcer down near the rim.
Throughout his five-year tenure with the Knicks, the 24-year-old has certainly proven himself to be a lethal contributor in both of these aforementioned aspects of the game and, as a result, has established himself as a truly elite paint dweller.
However, when stepping outside of the restricted area, the big man has struggled considerably, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
Robinson’s shortcomings are not just limited to his scoring game, where he’s attempted just five shots from outside of the paint.
In fact, in an October 10 newsletter from Knicks Film School, contributor Tom Piccolo went into great depth about one major struggle for New York’s center — screen setting.
“He slips screens and runs to the rim like a child excited on Christmas morning,” Piccolo wrote. “I get it; he has a gift, and that gift is hammering home lobs. He just can’t wait to get to the tin. But, getting into the right position and making real contact with defenders will go a long way towards getting his teammates open and in turn setting himself up for success, as well.”
Piccolo’s analysis certainly has a ton of statistical backing behind it, as he finished off the 2021-22 campaign ranked at just 31 overall in screen assists and 30 in screen assist points.
He would continue with his portion on Robinson by stating that despite his lackluster production in this aspect of his game, he believes that it could be deemed “a realistic goal for him” to work his way into the top-10 in screen assists this year.
Robinson Looking to Add to his Game
While he may not have mentioned screens, recently Mitchell Robinson hinted that he’s looking to expand upon his offensive repertoire.
In a post-practice press conference on October 6, a reporter asked New York’s starting pivot if he’ll be posting up more often during this upcoming season and the 24-year-old made it rather clear in his response that he would be.
“Yea, for sure,” Robinson told the reporter. “Because it puts pressure on the defense. I’m pretty sure everybody’s scouting report is just, like, lob, this, that, and that. Gotta add [a post-game]. [I’ve] got to.”
He would later go on to say that, with a consistent post presence, it could help the Knicks seriously take advantage of an opposing defense’s scheme.
“A lot of teams are switching as well on defense, so [I can] go right there to the front of the rim, try to figure out how to get the mismatch out of whatever, and, as they’re doing that, we can just pass the ball around,” Mitchell said.
Easily one of the league’s most ferocious and intimidating rim protectors, Robinson finds himself boasting career averages of 4.1 blocks per 100 possessions while also sporting per-game averages of 8.4 points and 7.5 rebounds on an astonishing 72.2% shooting clip from the field.
Considering he’s already the record holder for the highest field-goal percentage in a single season (74.2% back in 2019-20), by adding a self-sufficient scoring punch to his game, the big man could become a truly elite presence on both ends of the floor.
Knicks Guard Praises Teammate for Recent Play
On October 9, the New York Knicks held an open practice at Columbia University, and, during the Q&A portion of the event, third-year big man Obi Toppin asked teammate Immanuel Quickley what his “favorite Garden moment” was.
In response, the guard gave some serious love to one play that Toppin had executed the night before in the team’s second preseason game against the Indiana Pacers.
“My favorite Garden moment is when you went in between the legs against the [Indiana] Pacers last night.”
The play Quickley is referring to is one that happened late in the third quarter when the power forward threw down one of the best in-game dunks in recent memory, swooping it between the legs whilst airborne on a breakaway play that was sparked by him blocking the shot attempt of Kendall Brown.
Toppin would finish the contest with a phenomenal stat line of 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 71.4% shooting from the floor and 57.1% shooting from deep.
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