Mitchell Robinson had his best game of the season on Tuesday, putting up 14 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in the Knicks’ win over the Sixers.
His rhythm and conditioning seem to be trending in the right direction.
“Still got a lot of work to do,” Robinson said late Tuesday night.
When asked to elaborate on where he wants to be conditioning-wise, Robinson chuckled and said, “I need to be able to play like seven minutes straight. But, been working on the conditioning stuff still so, we rollin’.”
The rust is understandable. Robinson missed 10 months while rehabbing from ankle/foot surgery.
The Knicks took a cautious approach with their backup center. They held him out until they felt he was 100 percent healthy and able to sustain that health.
Robinson has played well over his past three games. Tuesday’s performance against the Sixers was his best yet. He is playing this season at a much lighter weight than in past years.
“Way lighter now,” Robinson said. “…. All that extra weight that I was carrying last year and the year before that was just keeping me down. But now, (I’m) lighter, and I feel better.”
The Knicks will rely on Robinson to play rotation minutes off the bench in the postseason. They clearly feel confident about Robinson’s ability to fill the role; they passed on any opportunity to acquire a backup center at the deadline, essentially betting that Robinson could be healthy and productive by the time the playoffs rolled around.
Robinson on Tuesday said that he hopes to have his conditioning all the way back by the time the playoffs start.
“The way I’ve been working, I feel like I can. That’s the goal,” he said. “I’m just going to continue to keep working, work on my conditioning and keep going.”
Robinson hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back this season. It’s unclear if the Knicks will hold him out of Wednesday’s game against the Cavs.
BRUNSON WEEKEND?
Also on the injury front, I think this weekend is a realistic timeframe for Jalen Brunson’s return from injury. Brunson has been out with a right ankle sprain since March 8. The Knicks play at Atlanta on Saturday and host Phoenix on Sunday. Based on the current trajectory, I’d expect Brunson to return during one of those games.
SHAMET STREAKING
Landry Shamet had 20 points and hit six threes against the Sixers. He’s made 19 of his last 40 three-point attempts. This is a welcome sign for a Knick team that needs Shamet’s scoring and defense off the bench.
Late last month, Shamet said he was comfortable with whatever the Knicks needed from him on a given night.
“I think you just lean into the fact that - I’ve said this before - it’s going to be something different night to night,” Shamet told SNY late last month. “That’s just how it’s going to be. And that’s OK. I think a lot of people maybe fight that – not saying here, but just in general. There’s kind of two choices: you can fight the variability of what’s going to be needed of you night to night or you can just accept it, welcome it and I think choosing the latter is a better approach.
“So that’s what I’m trying to do; just be OK with the fact that it’s going to look different night to night. Might get one three up, might get four or five. Might be all cutting and guarding. Being defensive-minded. It’s going to look different night to night. Minutes, all that. It’s going to change. And that’s OK. That’s part of it. That’s why we have to sacrifice and be willing to do.”
Tom Thibodeau was strongly in favor of keeping Shamet coming out of training camp. That decision has paid off, as Shamet gave the Knicks solid minutes for much of the season. Even when he wasn't hitting shots, Thibodeau praised Shamet for playing strong defense.
Shamet wears No. 44 in New York; it’s a tribute to late NBA legend Jerry West. West was an executive with the Clippers when the club drafted Shamet.
“Pre-draft, my interview with [West] was probably the most memorable one I had,” Shamet told SNY late last month. “To a young kid trying to make it into the NBA, he was giving [me] all this advice. I didn’t know Jerry was like that. Just a great dude, willing to give information. [I] had the luxury of being there [with the Clippers] for a couple years, spending time with him. For the rest of my career when we’d go play them he’d always be sitting in his seat on the baseline in LA and we’d just wink at each other.”
Another Shamet anecdote I found interesting? The role Patrick Beverley played in a Shamet three-pointer last month. Beverley was sitting behind the basket for a Warriors-Knicks game in early March. He was interacting with fans and players throughout the game. At one point in the fourth quarter, he was talking to Shamet about the best way to approach the Warriors’ zone defense.
“He was coaching me from the corner. He was forecasting the game. He was talking to me and I was like, ‘Is that Pat talking to me?’” Shamet recalled with a laugh, telling his version of an anecdote that Draymond Green relayed on his podcast.
Beverley helped Shamet recognize the right play against a Warriors zone defense in the fourth quarter.
“The guy guarding the corner was stepping up and it looked like you could cut from the corner – I went to go cut then I pulled back out and [Beverley] was like ‘Yeah, be patient, be patient. It’s gonna come, be patient.’ And sure enough, it was right in front of him in the corner [where Shamet got the pass from Cam Payne and knocked down a three]. It was funny.”
Credit Beverley with an unofficial assist this season.
