New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has sat out the last three games for injury management, and the team is seeing just how important he really is if they want to reach their ultimate goals this season.
Knicks were badly missing Mitchell Robinson against the Hawks
In the three games he has sat this week, New York has gone just 1-2. Additionally, they had their worst offensive performance of the season against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, scoring just 99 points and shooting 21% from three.
Without him, offensive rebounds have been hard to come by, limiting the Knicks’ second-chance opportunities. Without those extra opportunities, the offense fell flat against Atlanta.
The Knicks took a lot of low percentage shots against the Hawks. The lack of floor spacing and lack of rebounding caused the Knicks to fall behind as much as 24, which is their largest deficit in a game this season.
Robinson impacts the game significantly
Despite Robinson providing virtually no impact on the scoring front, the things he provides in other areas are crucial to a team’s success. He brings the physicality on defense, acting as a true interior force down low. Karl-Anthony Towns has improved in that area, but he is still not as imposing defensively as Robinson.
Both Towns and Robinson sat out against the Hawks, and they were badly missing them. Atlanta scored 58 points in the paint on Friday against the Knicks, as Ariel Hukporti, Guerschon Yabusele, and Trey Jemison couldn’t provide much resistance against a tall and athletic Hawks team.
The hope is that both centers will be back on Saturday against the 76ers, and they will need them. Joel Embiid will likely play, so they will need Robinson to be healthy and slow down the former MVP.