Mitchell Robinson Emerges As Double-Double Machine

We saw glimpses into what Mitchell Robinson could grow into last season, but this year, he is going to take a big step in his career and solidify himself as one of the better rebounding bigs in the entire league. Standing about 7-feet tall with a 7’4.5” wingspan, Mitchell Robinson has the makings of being a dominant big man for the New York Knicks and given their lack of frontcourt depth, he will get 30+ minutes per game to prove what he can do.

Over the course of his first two seasons in the NBA, Mitchell Robinson has started just 26 games, but it is likely that he will move into the starting center position this year. He averaged 9.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game last year and also led the league in field goal percentage, making 74.2% of his shots. Not to mention, he did all of this in about 23.1 minutes per game last year. 

With 30+ minutes per game, Mitchell Robinson could easily average 13-15 points per game and 9-12 rebounds per game. He has the makings of being a dominant big man and given his offensive abilities, he could end up being one of the Knicks better offensive players this season.

Mitchell Robinson is a very solid low-post player, so we should expect to see the Knicks run plays to get him the ball in the paint. Tom Thibodeau had a lot of success coaching Joakim Noah with the Chicago Bulls and will likely find the same success with a player like Robinson. 

The one area of his game he does need to improve upon is defensive rebounding, as he only averaged 4.0 defensive rebounds per game last year, but in Year 3, expect to see a new, more aggressive version of Mitchell Robinson. For the Knicks to reach their full potential this year Robinson will have to be a rebounding machine and given the minutes up for grabs in the frontcourt, he should prove himself to be a double-double machine for the Knicks.