In what has been an absolutely miserable 2018-19 campaign for the New York Knicks in which they traded away the first legitimate franchise player they had since Patrick Ewing, rookie big man Mitchell Robinson has been a bright spot.
Selected by the Knicks in the second round (36th pick overall) of the NBA Draft back in June, no one really knew what to expect from Robinson, who did not play a second of collegiate basketball. What we knew was that he was tall (7-foot-1) and athletic. That was pretty much it, and that was why he fell to the second round of the draft in spite of being a first-round talent.
Robinson's season was immediately halted by an ankle injury on opening night, and in December, Robinson injured his ankle yet again, knocking him out for a month.
Since returning in January, however, Robinson has remained healthy, and he has Knicks fans in a frenzy.
On the season overall, the 20-year-old is averaging 6.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks over 17.9 minutes per game while shooting 69.6 percent from the floor and 51.5 percent from the free-throw line.
While his offensive skillset leaves much to be desired, Robinson has shown massive potential on the defensive side of the ball, as evidence by his average of 4.3 blocks per 36 minutes.
Back in mid-November, Robinson had a nine-block outing against the Orlando Magic, and on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, Robinson made Joel Embiid look silly a couple of times, swatting four shots total on the evening.
This month, Robinson is registering 11 points, 8.4 boards and 2.7 blocks across 21.6 minutes a night.
Here is the question, though: just how good can Robinson be?
Well, for starters, let's pump the brakes a bit. Robinson is unquestionably a nice young piece, but the attention he has been getting likely stems from the fact that New York fans have not had a lot to be excited about over the better part of the last two decades.
Kristaps Porzingis was the one thing Knicks fans had to look forward to over the past few years, but New York ended up dealing the injured center right before the trade deadline, as Porzingis had had it with the Knicks' front office.
That leaves Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier and Robinson as New York's only real pieces moving forward, and Knox has had a pretty underwhelming rookie campaign.
So, a lot of this hype around Robinson is a bit artificial and is based off of the fact that Knicks fans have been thirsting for something to get excited about for quite some time.
But, looking at Robinson through a realistic scope, he may very well develop into a Clint Capela or DeAndre Jordan type of player, and that is absolutely fantastic.
His offensive game will likely always be limited, but as long as he can finish lobs and not make a fool of himself around the basket, the Knicks won't need all that much offensive production from him. They will just need him to be a threat in the pick-and-roll and to collect garbage points around the rim, much like Capela and Jordan.
Defensively, though, is where Robinson will truly shine.
Not only is Robinson obviously going to become an elite rim-protector so long as he stays healthy, but he is also very adept at defending the pick-and-roll due to his athleticism, footspeed and ridiculous length.
The first-year big man has shown the ability to recover very quickly when an offensive player gets a step on him, as one of Robinson's strides is essentially worth two of basically anyone else in the league. Plus, his explosiveness and jumping ability allows him to contest shots that many other bigs just do not possess the ability to do.
Robinson's defensive potential alone makes him a very valuable commodity, as defensive versatility is a hallmark of modern centers.
The one thing that definitely puts a cap on Robinson's ceiling, however, is his lack of touch. He is a terrible free-throw shooter and has virtually no offensive repertoire outside of dunks and layups, and good defensive teams will exploit that.
Plus, with floor spacing representing such a paramount feature of top teams in today's game, the Knicks are going to need four other shooters on the court whenever Robinson is in the game, or else their spacing will suffer.
Of course, Robinson is still just a kid, so there is plenty of time for him to improve his offensive chops, but it seems hard to imagine him becoming anything more than just a lob finisher in that regard.
So, yes. Robinson is a very nice prospect and can certainly turn into a force on the defensive end, but if you are expecting him to become an all-around ace, you are sorely mistaken.
As long as he avoids injury, he is going to become a very solid complementary player, but, again, he is going to need the right players around him in order to truly maximize his potential.
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