New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has shown that his offensive rebounding prowess is crucial to the team’s success. However, his action on the court has been minimal this season, and a glaring flaw was exposed on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics.
Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson has a major free throw problem
In that game, Robinson played just 16 minutes off the bench, recording five rebounds and one point. Alarmingly, the Celtics began using the patented “hack-a-Mitch” strategy that they employed during the playoffs last season, where they would intentionally foul Robinson to force him to the free throw line.
Robinson couldn’t make them pay for the fouling, as he went just 1-for-4 from the charity stripe. Worse, he is shooting just 3-for-17 at the free throw line this season, good for only 17.6%.
As of now, that would be the lowest free throw percentage by a player in league history. The current all-time low was set by Ben Wallace in 2001, when he shot just 33.6% from the foul line.
Robinson’s defense and offensive rebounding are crucial components of his game, but the inability to shoot free throws is very concerning. It is hard to play him for long stretches when teams are prepared to simply force him to the line, as it disrupts the flow of the offense for New York.
Robinson’s future with the Knicks could get murky
Furthermore, the injuries remain a huge concern for the Knicks. He won’t be playing in back-to-backs this season as they try to manage his injured ankle, which has caused him to play fewer minutes than they would have liked.
Currently, he is averaging just 17.2 minutes per game. He has also played 20 or more minutes just twice this season, with his season-high being 22 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks on November 19.
Being that he is in a contract year and has already lost his starting job, questions about his future with the team will begin to emerge. He has been thrown in trade rumors at times throughout the season, and those conversations could arise again given his recent play.
Overall, he is having a season that is difficult to assess, as there are some really big highs, but very low lows.