After a long wait, Mitchell Robinson is finally back. The New York Knicks The center has returned Friday evening in New York 114-113 victory Against Memphis’ grizzly greeks.
Robinson’s return could consolidate the 20th classified defense of New York in alignments with All-Star Center Cities of Karl-Anthony. Robinson’s adjustment on the ground with cities has potential, but there are some concerns. The pairing would give a size of New York in the paint and Robinson could stimulate a poor defense of the Knicks.
Friday, Robinson had a modest night, marking six points and lowering five rebounds in 12 minutes. However, he had a positive effect on the game. Robinson was a plus-11. Apart from a brief cameo on a free launch scenario at the end of the game on Friday evening, Towns and Robinson have not yet played together. It remains to be seen how the two will adapt in the field.
Will cities be able to flourish individually? Playing with Robinson would not be the first experience of Towns to play alongside another great man. Towns has spent his last two seasons with Minnesota Timberwolves as an advantage next to Rudy Gobert. The role was an adjustment for the cities that played its first seven seasons largely as a center.
The presence of Gobert forced cities to become more a spot shooter who spaced the soil and less masher in the post and the driver in a straight line that he was during most of his career. The combination led to positive results last season while Minnesota was heading for the conference final for the second time in the history of the franchise. Minnesota was effective when Towns and Gobert shared the ground, displaying a net note of more-7.99 points by 100 possessions when the two bigs shared the word last season by PBP statistics.
The individual numbers of cities experienced a significant drop with the Gobert Grodding. When Towns was on the ground with Gobert last season, he has an average of 30.8 points per 100 possessions. When Gobert was on the bench, this number went to 36.7 points for 100 possessions. City free throws attempts almost doubled when Gobert was out of the ground. His rebound rate also increased when he played without Gobert.
The return to the five this season allowed the cities to flourish individually. It has an average of 24.6 points and 13.3 rebounds this season. Robinson is a player similar to Gobert. These are both centers related to painting that are known for their ability to affect the shots around the basket. However, in attack, they can both crash offensive spacing because they are limited non -score threats outside the painting.
With Robinson occupying the low space, there is a good chance that the number of cities can decrease. The Robinson defender will be another obstacle for cities on journeys in painting. It will be an adjustment for the cities that have played with an ideal spacing for most of the season. In defense, if the cities play with Robinson, he will be forced to guard against the perimeter more often against attackers or faster wings.
Looking for a defensive remedy
Robinson’s presence was missed this season. Where Robinson can really have an impact is the painting, a place on the field where the Knicks had trouble. The Knicks abandon 50.6 points in the painting for 100 possessions, the third worst brand of the League, according to NBA statistics. New York is only 29th in blocks for 100 possessions. The seven feet gives New York an intimidator who can thwart adversaries at the edge.
A problem that Robinson will not solve is the three bullets. The opponents draw 37.7% from the three -point line against the Knicks this season, a high figure. Since Robinson is more comfortable defending near the rim, selection and pop centers can cause him problems. Unfortunately for Knicks, Cleveland horsemen and Boston Celtics have great men who can shoot like that of Cleveland Evan Mobley And boston Kristaps Porzingis.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau will have to find a balance in optimizing alignments with cities in the center that worked while having Robinson on the ground to help direct the defense in the right direction. It is a difficult line to take but, if it is well done, could add versatility to the attack in New York.
