CHICAGO — Mitchell Robinson has been stressed — stressed watching from the sidelines as the Knicks’ defense wavered, unable to do anything but wait.
“It’s been stressful, stressful to watch,” he said after morning shootaround at the United Center on Friday. “What I bring a lot to the table, we’re missing right now.”
The Windy City brought a much-needed therapy session for New York’s defensive anchor and starting center. Because Big Mitch’s big return is big-time for both the big man and the Big Apple.
Robinson was a full participant in practice for the first time since leaving the rotation on Thursday at DePaul University’s Sullivan Athletic Center, then announced his comeback himself with a two-word Facebook post — “I’m ready” — hours before head coach Mike Brown confirmed he’d play against the Bulls.
His return marks the first time the Knicks have been at full strength since a rash of preseason injuries left them short-handed to start the year.
“You always want to be at full strength. This is a marathon. This is a process,” Brown said before tipoff Friday. “[We] still [have] a lot of room to grow, so having everybody on the floor just gives you more of an opportunity to get some continuity with the guys together. You want that as much as possible. It’s good to have it probably for the first time tonight since I’ve been here.”
Robinson’s comeback will be gradual. While Brown said there’s no minutes restriction for his starting big man, it’s clear he remains on a strict load management plan after undergoing two surgeries to repair stress fractures in his left ankle. The Knicks know Robinson won’t appear in both legs of back-to-backs or in every game of heavy stretches early in the season. That volatility makes it harder to establish rhythm as Brown implements new schemes on both ends.
“It’s harder, but it’s part of the process. Can it be done? Yes. Will we get it done? Yes,” said Brown. “It’s something that we embrace because we want the best possible version of Mitch we can get. [Knicks VP of sports medicine] Casey [Smith] and those guys will handle the technicalities of load management, and we’ll just try to get the group as much as we can as often as we can whenever we can and go from there.”
For a 2–2 Knicks team searching for consistency, beggars can’t be choosers. They’ve been begging for Robinson’s production — and presence — as their defensive anchor. He’s been out since the first half of New York’s Oct. 9 preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, sidelined through practices and games.
“Yeah [it’s frustrating]. I like to play,” he said. “Y’all seen it in the past, I like to go out there and play hard.”
Knicks captain Jalen Brunson called Robinson’s impact “immeasurable.” Without him, the Knicks’ defense slipped; with him post-All-Star break last season, they climbed back into the league’s top 10. Now, Robinson returns to his starting role in a defense designed to be even more aggressive — one that depends on his rim protection to free perimeter defenders to pressure the ball.
“It’s huge because it allows us to get into the ball and be a little more physical on ball knowing that if we do get blown by, we have Mitch there protecting the paint, whether that’s blocking shots, deterring shots, altering shots,” forward Josh Hart said after shootaround. “So defensively it’s huge, and he can guard on the perimeter and switch, so you add that and he’s a great screener, roller, he sets hard screens. He creates an advantage for us and obviously offensive rebounds, so it’ll be huge to get him back (looks at Mal) if he comes back today. And we’ll see.”
The only question now is conditioning. Robinson admits his wind isn’t where it needs to be, and Brown doesn’t expect him to look like his full self right away.
“Mitch brings a lot to the table. Obviously, he hasn’t played in a while, too. So he’s not going to be Mitch Robinson in the next five games probably, no matter when he plays or how much he plays,” said Brown. “But his length, his versatility, in terms of being able to guard 1 thru 5, his ability to offensive rebound, defensive rebound, he just brings a lot to both ends of the floor. You get a vertical threat offensively and an anchor defensively, that it’s hard to replace because he’s a special player at that position.”
Brown knows what Robinson means to the Knicks, and what his absences can cost. So as he carefully reintegrates his big man, he’s already stressing the next layer of accountability: defending well when Robinson isn’t out there to erase mistakes.
“Mitch is definitely an anchor of the defense with his size and athleticism and ability to change, block shots. We’re going to get better. But there are some things we have to [do] where we don’t solely rely on Mitch, and so there’s some areas that we can get better at and have to get better at, starting with guarding the ball and then making sure our shifts are right,” Brown said. “And we’re not only shifting but we’re shifting big, too. And when we do that, we’re a pretty good defensive team.”
