The Knicks’ Robinson returns to Bayou to play in front of the family
NEW ORLEANS – For Mitchell Robinson, this is the home after he grew up nearby and still spends his free time on the bayou. But when he returned this time, it marked his first chance to play in front of his friends and family since the 16th game of his rookie year.
In the 2019-20 season, the Knicks never got to play in New Orleans with the season interrupted by COVID-19. And so last season, Robinson was plagued by injuries, his season was long gone when the Knicks traveled to the Smoothie King Center.
So there was something special about Robinson being able to take the floor in front of friends and family, not just back in action, but starting for a first-place team and starting to reach the heights he had hinted at as he found his way into NBA.
“Yes, it’s my home,” Robinson said after the Knicks’ morning review as they prepared for the game. “It’s not getting any better than that. It’s at home. Just go out here and play hard. It’s going to be great to play at home in front of my friends and family. It’s going to be great.”
It might have seemed unlikely that he would be in this position just a few weeks ago. When the Knicks were in training camp, Robinson often spent his training time working alone or with a coach, trying to make a comeback from surgery to repair the broken foot that ended his season. But he suddenly showed up for the last preseason game and has been the starting center since opening night.
And with time gone by, on the sidelines of watching, working in the weight room and studying movies, he has emerged as a better version of himself. He has been anchored in the Knicks defense, averaging 1.4 blocks per game. match and snatched 9.6 rebounds. Offensively, he has been remarkably effective – nothing new for a player who two seasons ago set an NBA record by converting on 74.2% of his field-goal attempts.
But even for Robinson, this has been a special span of five games, connecting 19 out of 22 field goal attempts. He was 16 of 16 on thump attempts and 3 of 5 on the rest of his shots, the longest attempt measured four feet from the edge. After spending the summer redoing his body, adding muscle and about 50 pounds from the time he was drafted, he has pounded in traffic, often bending after a conversion. In the last two matches, he found himself matched with Joel Embiid and Nikola Vucevic and muscle through.
“I mean. I just go out and play hard,” Robinson said. “I feel like my weight has helped tremendously. The last two years they would have bumped me, I would have jumped three meters away. Now it’s different. I do not tug like that. It does not feel very different.”
While blinking occasionally, he said he does not engage in any talk while struggling in the paint.
“Nah, I can not talk until if I get stopped,” he said, “if I get scored on, I do not like to talk to anyone. It does not look good to talk, but still get scored on. “You can not do. I’m really waiting for the end of the game, and then we’re talking … They’re really not talking to me. Nobody’s really said anything to me so far.”
There’s one discussion Robinson should have at some point – contract talks with the Knicks. He’s a free agent at the end of the season, and due to limitations on the salary cap, he may actually be able to earn more if he leaves the Knicks. The team can offer him a four-year extension worth up to $ 54 million. The team paid Nerlen’s Noel, who started while Robinson was out last year, $ 27 million over three years, and Noel is expected to return soon from his own injury problems.
“Honestly, I mean, I just want to play,” he said. “I do not care if I start or not start. As for the contract, the season has just started, so I’m not really that worried about it. [I want to] stay healthy and keep playing hard and getting better with each match. “
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.
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