The Celtics are taking advantage of Mitchell Robinson‘s weakness as a free throw shooter and creating a difficult decision for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). Boston coach Joe Mazzulla employed the “Hack-a-Mitch” strategy repeatedly in Game 3, sending the backup center to the line 12 times. He only made four of those attempts, and Bondy observes that the misses included an air ball and several line drives that had no chance of going in.
“It’s a tough position to be in, especially mentally, but you have to encourage,” Jalen Brunson said. “We’re going to have each other’s backs, regardless.”
Robinson is 11-of-38 from the line (29%) since the playoffs began, which makes it hard to keep him on the court. Bondy notes that he’s the team’s best rebounder and rim protector, and he’s able to switch onto Boston’s star wings on pick-and-rolls. He had six offensive rebounds on Saturday, but he only played 19 minutes because his inefficiency at the line resulted in too many empty possessions.
“If he’s making them, he stays,” Thibodeau said. “If he’s not, you have to get him out. Is his impact on the game more beneficial to leave him in? There are a lot of factors that go into that.”
There’s more from New York:
- Brunson is one of the NBA’s best clutch performers, but he hasn’t been delivering enough early offense in this series as the Knicks have faced big deficits in all three games, observes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Brunson is shooting just 36.5% from the field through the first three quarters, but he doesn’t plan to change his approach. “Continue to shoot my shot, do the things I work on, continue to stay confident, that’s the biggest thing,” he said after Saturday’s loss. “Just trust what I do. That’s basically it right there.”
- The Knicks will need more offense from OG Anunoby to survive the series, states Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Anunoby was limited to 1-of-6 from the field in Game 3, with his only basket coming on a third quarter dunk. Schwartz points out that New York is 8-0 in playoff games when Anunoby takes at least 14 shots, but just 5-9 when he doesn’t.
- The Celtics were able to torch the Knicks from three-point range after being held in check the first two games, and Josh Hart believes his team wasn’t aggressive enough in challenging Boston’s shooters, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “It was not what it should have been,” Hart said. “It should have been more physical, more aggressive. We let them get into a rhythm early and feeling good early. That’s something that we can’t do. We made the mistake on that and, like I said, we have to learn from it.”