Mitchell Robinson

Knicks Notes: Bridges, Anunoby, Hart, McBride, Robinson

The Knicks raised eyebrows last offseason when they surrendered five first-round picks in a trade for Mikal Bridges, then committed over $212MM in guaranteed money to OG Anunoby. Neither player was expected to be a top-two offensive option for New York in 2024/25, but the team recognized the value of having two of the NBA’s best two-way wings.

Monday’s win over Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals showed exactly why the Knicks were willing to give up such a significant trade package for Bridges, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com, and why they were comfortable investing so heavily in Anunoby, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes.

Bridges scored only eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, but made several crucial defensive plays in his 51 minutes of action, including a late-game steal that prevented Jaylen Brown from attempting a game-tying three-pointer and secured the victory for the Knicks.

“That’s who Mikal is. He’s (gotten) a lot of criticism and he never lets that affect him,” teammate Josh Hart said after the win, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “I don’t know how many games down the stretch that he’s won for us on the defensive side alone — the Brooklyn game, the block, the Chicago game he got a block at the end. A couple in the Detroit series. He’s been a huge part for this team. Sometimes those things get overlooked and people just look at stats and they lose sight of how valuable a player that he is.”

Anunoby, who served as the primary defender on Jayson Tatum, helped limit the Celtics star to a 7-of-23 shooting night while also matching Jalen Brunson‘s team-high 29 points.

“Definitely sparked us,” Brunson said of Anunoby. “And the way he’s been playing all season, I have the utmost confidence in him every time he steps on the floor, on both sides of the ball. So it’s what we expect.”

We have more on the Knicks:

  • New York loaded up on wings – adding Bridges to complement Anunoby and Hart – in large part to combat Eastern Conference stars like Tatum and Brown. While that vision was questioned during the regular season as the Knicks lost all four of their matchups with the Celtics, the blueprint is as clear as it’s been all year following Monday’s Game 1 upset, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.
  • Reserve guard Miles McBride struggled during the first round of the playoffs vs. Detroit, averaging 3.8 points per game on 26.7% shooting. In Game 1 vs. Boston, he had 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, finally giving the Knicks the kind of boost they’d been hoping for off the bench, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
  • Knicks center Mitchell Robinson made just 3-of-10 free throws on Monday and is now 7-of-25 (28.0%) in the playoffs. Although the Celtics effectively employed a hack-a-Robinson strategy for a little while in Game 1, the big man downplayed his struggles from the foul line, as Schwartz relays for The Post. “Basketball is not just about free throws,” Robinson said. “You got defense, you got rebounds, offensive rebounds — there’s more to it than just free throws. That’s like the only part I need to work on, my free throws. Everything else, I’m straight.” To Robinson’s point, New York outscored Boston by 13 points during his 21 minutes on the court.

Atlantic Notes: Hart, Knicks, Robinson, Kornet, Nets

Josh Hart‘s contributions will be even more invaluable to the Knicks in their second-round series, which began tonight, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes.

While the Knicks were able to answer runs against the inexperienced Pistons in their first-round series, the defending champion Celtics possess a killer instinct to bury teams once momentum shifts their way. Hart can guide his teammates through those storms.

“For me, I’ve said it all year, it’s how can I get my guys going? How can I help them get an easy shot or an open look or get their energy into the game? A lot of that I do by example,” Hart said. “I’ll talk to guys obviously, but it’s making a big play here or there, a hustle play that will get one of those guys an open shot that they knock down, now they’re feeling good, the energy is up. That’s something I always try to do, that I hang my hat on.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • A big concern for the Knicks is matching up against the Celtics‘ bench, Schwartz notes. Boston has the Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, and several other contributors in reserve, while Miles McBride struggled during New York’s first-round series. Mitchell Robinson was the only second-unit player who provided consistent production against Detroit and they’ll need that again from him in this series.
  • Speaking of Celtics reserves, Luke Kornet had to make a major career adjustment with the team. They asked him to be more of an interior presence, rather than joining the long list of big men tasked with stretching the floor. “It was actually really hard,” Kornet told Brian Robb of Masslive.com. “All of a sudden, the thing that I was most proud of and felt was my identity, and the reason I was in the NBA was kind of gone.”
  • The Nets‘ stockpile of draft picks is more valuable than ever, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. They have multiple picks in this year’s loaded draft, plenty of extra picks and picks swap in future seasons. Cheap rookie contracts are more important now because of the restrictions in the current CBA.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, McBride, Robinson, Hart

The condition of Jalen Brunson‘s right ankle is becoming an increasing concern for the Knicks as their first-round series wears on, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bondy notes that Brunson has gone to the locker room to get his ankle worked on in each of the first five games. Brunson’s absence in the fourth quarter on Tuesday caused New York’s offense to bog down and opened the door for Detroit to grab a series-saving victory.

“It’s different (without Brunson),” Mikal Bridges said. “You know he’s going to have that ball. It doesn’t mean we can’t step up. I should’ve made shots and held it down for him as much as he holds it down for us. We just got to be better.” 

Bondy points out that Bridges missed two shots during Brunson’s two-and-a-half-minute absence late in Game 5. Also during that sequence, Karl-Anthony Towns had an attempt blocked and Cameron Payne couldn’t connect on an open floater.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau believes his team’s late-game execution needs to improve no matter’s who’s on the court.

“You have to be at your best in the fourth quarter,” Thibodeau said. “You have to understand that the intensity of the fourth quarter is different. The first three quarters are going to be played with a certain intensity level and the fourth quarter is going to be different. So you have to make your decisions quicker, you have to get to your spots quicker and you have to execute.” 

There’s more from New York:

  • The Knicks’ depth problems have worsened because of subpar performances from Miles McBride, who was the team’s most dependable reserve throughout the season, says Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. McBride went 2-of-7 from the field and missed all three of his three-point shots while scoring four points in 22 minutes on Tuesday. “Just gotta keep playing,” Thibodeau responded when asked about McBride. “Next play, just keep getting ready, each game is different. How you reset is important. One game really has nothing to do with the next so just put the proper amount of time into preparation to get yourselves ready to play.”
  • Mitchell Robinson was dominant during his 22 minutes in Game 5, observes Peter Botte of The New York Post. He finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass. “I thought Mitch gave us a good lift, good energy,” Thibodeau said. “The rebounding was good enough. Defense was good enough. Our turnovers hurt us, so we gotta clean that up.” 
  • Injuries are becoming a problem for the Knicks, offering a reminder of how the team disintegrated in last year’s playoffs, Botte adds in a separate story. In addition to Brunson’s ankle issues, Josh Hart had to leave Tuesday’s game with a sore wrist after a hard fall late in the fourth quarter. OG Anunoby also checked out for a while with an undisclosed ailment. When asked which wrist was hurting, Hart said, “My whole body is bothering me. Wrist, back, butt. A little bit of everything.”

Knicks Notes: Towns, McBride, Anunoby, Brunson, Robinson

The Knicks came away with a close win in Game 3 against the Pistons facing a loud Detroit crowd. It’s no coincidence that as the Knicks played faster, Karl-Anthony Towns had his best offensive game of the series, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes.

Towns scored 31 points on 10 made field goals, including a handful that came with over 14 seconds still left on the shot clock, according to Edwards, who says Towns was purposeful and imposed his will.

In transition, KAT is someone I’m definitely trying to look for and find while he’s flowing into the half court, where he can knock down shots trailing or able to attack,” teammate Josh Hart said.

In a separate story, Fred Katz of The Athletic notes that Jalen Brunson and Towns ran 17 pick-and-rolls in Game 3, their second-highest single-game total since January. New York was able to take advantage of Jalen Duren guarding Towns as opposed to a wing.

We have more on the Knicks:

  • In the same story for The Athletic, Katz analyzes the play of both Miles McBride and OG Anunoby, opining that New York needs more from McBride in order to help secure a series win over the Pistons. McBride isn’t playing much, but New York’s reserves have only scored 39 points in the series, and that will likely need to change to keep the starters fresh. As for Anunoby, Katz explains why he’s prone to defensive ‘heat checks’ and why his attention to detail is standing out. Jared Schwartz of the New York Post observes that Anunoby helped hold Cade Cunningham to 10-of-25 shooting from the field in Game 3.
  • The Knicks were able to rely on their reserves in a come-from-behind Game 1 win, with Cameron Payne in particular standing out. Like Katz,  Zach Braziller of the New York Post observes that New York’s depth has been outshone in the two games since then. With the Pistons getting massive contributions from reserves like Dennis Schröder and Malik Beasley, the Knicks’ lack of depth could become an issue, Braziller suggests.
  • Brunson reacted well to Detroit crowd berating him with derisive chants and responded with an impressive 30-point game to go along with nine assists and seven rebounds, Ian Begley of SNY writes. “I don’t think crowds understand, especially with pros and guys that are really good, they’re probably going to be really good when you’re chanting they’re name,” teammate P.J. Tucker said. “When you’re saying what they said, it probably gives them a little incentive to play a little better, play a little harder.”
  • Knicks center Mitchell Robinson missed Saturday’s practice due to an illness, but Thibodeau believe the big man “should be fine” for Game 4 on Sunday, according to Begley (Twitter links). Thibodeau added that Robinson is no longer on a minutes restriction.

Knicks Notes: Game 3 Adjustments, Toughness, Hart, Brunson

All eyes are on Tom Thibodeau ahead of the Knicks’ Game 3 against the Pistons, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes in a subscriber-only story.

New York should theoretically have an advantage as a team that went all-in on its roster last offseason against a less experienced Detroit squad. At the time of writing, the Knicks went on a quick early run to get ahead of Detroit. The series is tied at 1-1 entering Thursday’s game, though the Knicks were a late Mikal Bridges three-point attempt away from tying Game 2.

If that [Bridges] shot goes in, we’re probably not talking about the other stuff. But that’s playoff basketball,” Thibodeau said. “And then, what do you learn from the game, and how do you reset and get ready for the next one. And I think all that stuff is important. Each game, take what happened in the previous game, study and get ready for the next one.

As Bondy writes, the Pistons were able to exploit the Knicks with hard screens and box outs in Game 2, and so the onus is on Thibodeau to counter those moves. One suggestion Bondy adds is for Thibodeau to turn to the big pairing of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson more often. Pistons center Isaiah Stewart is out for Game 3, per The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson (Twitter link), and so going big could help counter Detroit.

We have more from the Knicks:

  • The Pistons’ run to the playoffs after being the worst team in the league last year is a testament to their grit and strength, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post opines. So far in their first-round series against the Knicks, they’ve out-muscled New York. Detroit’s Tobias Harris implied that the difference in the two teams’ physicality is a core tenet of the team’s playoff game plan, and the Knicks will need to respond appropriately in Game 3.
  • Josh Hart took accountability for part of what went wrong for the Knicks in Game 2, Bondy tweets. Hart said he needed to stop complaining to the refs as often due to it distracting from the game. “It definitely takes you off your game,” Hart said. “I think controlling it that just comes from within, kind of focusing on controlling what you can control. We can’t control what they’re calling. … We can just control how we respond to it. Last game I responded terribly. I have to make sure I fix that, [Towns] fixes that, and move on from it.
  • Star guard Jalen Brunson won the Clutch Player of the Year award on Wednesday after averaging the most clutch points in the league. He spoke on the honor to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). “It means a lot,” Brunson said. “It’s a credit to us winning close games and my teammates and coaches having my back.

Knicks Notes: Payne, Brunson, Towns, Robinson

Tom Thibodeau‘s decision to expand his rotation to nine players paid off Saturday as Cameron Payne came off the bench to spark a comeback victory over Detroit, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Payne scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks put together a blistering 21-0 run to pull out their playoff series opener.

“The thing about him, he knows exactly who he is,” Thibodeau said. “He comes in with great energy every game, carries himself well each and every day. He gave us a huge spark, that’s been who he is.” 

Schwartz points out that Payne has more postseason experience than anyone else on New York’s roster, apart from P.J. Tucker, who didn’t play in Game 1. Saturday was Payne’s 59th playoff game in his 10-year career, and Schwartz notes that he brings a mixture of veteran savvy and youthful energy.

“I (am one of) the oldest guys on the team, so having somebody into the game, it’s a different kind of experience, especially for the rookies,” Payne said. “We’re in the NBA, sometimes people have the chill (mindset), just chilling. I’m happy to be in the league, I enjoy it, so I try to just have fun every single night. I could be doing something else, but I’m playing in the Garden. I gotta have fun. I just try my best to bring my energy and it’s infectious. Everybody feeds off it. That’s a good feeling.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

  • Thibodeau joked that Jalen Brunson “got his cape” when he went to the locker room prior to the start of the fourth quarter, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The star guard actually changed his shoes before delivering 12 points and three assists in the final nine minutes. That came after he missed 11 of his first 13 shots and struggled to find space to operate against an aggressive Detroit defense. “He’s a warrior. He’s going to battle for us,” Josh Hart said. “Obviously he’s playing through the ankle (pain). Can’t say enough about his toughness, his grit. Fourth quarter, end of the game, obviously he made plays for us.” 
  • Karl-Anthony Towns had a memorable performance in his first playoff game with the Knicks, observes Madeline Kenney of The New York Post. Towns filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks in 39 minutes. “There’s no doubt about it: What (Towns) can do offensively changes what you do defensively,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He has that impact on both sides of the ball.”
  • Thibodeau experimented with a double-big lineup on Saturday, using Towns alongside Mitchell Robinson for a while in the first half, per Zach Braziller and Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson was limited to 17 regular season games while recovering from left ankle surgery, but he gives the Knicks flexibility to try different looks in the playoffs. “The size, I think, is good,” Thibodeau said. “I thought Mitch during that stretch made some really good defensive plays, in the fourth, too. The steal that he had, the game was pretty tight, and that was a big play. He makes plays like that. That helps inspire the team, ignite the team. Those are great hustle plays, so defensively, I think he was very good.” 

Knicks Notes: Thibodeau, Brunson, Hukporti, Rotation

Asked ahead of the Knicks‘ first-round series about speculation that head coach Tom Thibodeau will be on the hot seat if New York doesn’t make a deep playoff run, star point guard Jalen Brunson referred to himself as a “big Thibs supporter” and strongly backed his coach, as Jared Schwartz of The New York Post writes.

“He means a lot,” Brunson said on Friday (Twitter video link). “Individually, he’s meant a lot to my career. I’d say he’s meant a decent amount to (Karl-Anthony Towns), coaching KAT in Minnesota and here. There’s a lot of players who can say they’ve definitely benefited from Tom Thibodeau in his career.

“But I think as a team, we’re always in a position where we can compete in the postseason since I’ve been here. He’s very prepared. He’s a very prepared individual. He’s done a lot for my career, so I’m always going to be a supporter. Always. Even when he annoys me. Always.”

Thibodeau has faced criticism over the years due a perception that he overworks his top players, and three Knicks ranked among the top six players in the NBA in minutes per game this season. But New York will enter the 2025 postseason with nearly all of its players – including everyone who’s part of the rotation – fully healthy, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post notes.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Rookie center Ariel Hukporti, who has been out since February 26 while recovering from surgery on his left meniscus, was upgraded to questionable for Game 1 of the Knicks’ first-round series vs. Detroit and practiced on Friday, tweets Bondy. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), Thibodeau referred to Hukporti as a game-time decision, though it seems unlikely that he’d be part of the team’s rotation even if he’s healthy enough to play.
  • In a separate story for The New York Post, Bondy weighs the case for and against expanding the Knicks’ playoff rotation beyond seven players. As Bondy outlines, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson are locks to see regular minutes off the bench, but it’s unclear whether Landry Shamet, Precious Achiuwa, or Cameron Payne will get off the bench. If Thibodeau does use an eighth man, Bondy believes Shamet is the best bet for that role.
  • Even after the Knicks added Towns and Mikal Bridges as offensive weapons last offseason, Brunson still led the team and ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference with 26.0 points per game. The Knicks will need him more than ever in order to make a playoff run this spring, says James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Atlantic Notes: Ujiri, Rajakovic, Raptors, Sixers’ Trio, Knicks Bigs

The Raptors‘ front office, led by president Masai Ujiri, is determined to get the team back into championship contention, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes. In his end-of-season news conference, Ujiri expressed that he wasn’t able to enjoy Toronto’s championship in 2019 as much as he would’ve liked and that all he thinks about is getting his team back to that spot.

[Our goal] is getting better and adding more players and building this team and growing to be a championship team,” Ujiri said. “A championship is the end goal of all of this, and when that comes, we don’t know, but we have to identify those players and build with those kinds of players.

The Raptors took a big swing by acquiring Brandon Ingram at the deadline and giving him a multiyear extension before he played a game for the team.

At the end of the day, you have to acquire talent,” Ujiri said. “We have to do it in a unique way in the market that we’re in and we’ve got to jump on opportunities that come our way, sometimes after we really study them.

Ujiri’s comments this week represented a departure from the ones he made a year ago, when he expressed a willingness to embark on a multiyear rebuild, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Toronto did maximize its draft talent this year, with rookies Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead and Jamison Battle all stepping up and playing big roles.

I was really happy with the way these guys played and hopefully their development comes up more and more,” Ujiri said. “Yeah, we tried to attack the odds in the lottery and see what we can do. It’s a good draft. And honestly, wherever we fall, we feel very confident. Our guys have done a lot of work all year. We’re extremely excited.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The pressure to win has been relatively low in Toronto with the team acquiring and developing so many young players, Grange writes in another piece. But with the Raptors‘ focus shifting toward winning, head coach Darko Rajakovic is ready for the team’s next phase and has the full buy-in of his players. “He’s a really good coach. He cares about us. He really does,RJ Barrett said. “He comes in and he challenges us every single day. And it’s nice when you know that you have somebody that cares about you — makes you want to play even harder for them. Darko’s a guy you can have conversations with about anything, and he’s very helpful. Always teaching, but he listens to us and our ideas. Yeah. So, like, that stuff is great.
  • Sixers wing Paul George wants the team’s big three – himself, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid – to spend more time together this offseason, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I think that’s very important,” George said. “We’ve already talked about seeing each other, where we’re going to be this summer. So we’ve already had those conversations about connecting once the season’s over. I think it’s very important. I don’t think it’s healthy to go two, three months before seeing each other, regardless of if we’re checking in over the phone. It’s just different seeing each other.
  • The Knicks might turn to two-big lineups in the playoffs against the Pistons, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns only played 47 minutes together this season, but that two-man grouping outscored opponents by 9.2 points per 100 possessions. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said that despite the small sample size, he liked what he saw from that pairing.

Knicks Notes: Rotation, McBride, Robinson, Towns, Bridges, Brunson, Toughness

How low will coach Tom Thibodeau go? In this instance, we’re talking about his rotation.

Thibodeau sliced his rotation to eight players in last year’s playoffs, then cut it to seven when injuries struck. The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy anticipates that Thibodeau will rely heavily on his starting unit once again in the opening-round series against Detroit.

Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson appear to be the only locks to get steady playing time off the bench. Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa are the other reserves who could be called upon but it’s likely only one will get rotation minutes, according to Bondy, who recommends that the hot-shooting Shamet should be the choice.

Here’s more Knicks news:

  • It’ll be the first postseason with the Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the front office’s two major acquisitions to become a championship-level team. The pressure will be on that duo to produce, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. “I think for me and Mikal, we just wanted to show our value to the team,” Towns said. “And I think that throughout the year, we’ve had the opportunity to do that, to our fans and our teammates and our coaching staff.”
  • Jalen Brunson, who returned from an ankle injury this month to play four games, says that past playoff experiences will help the club navigate this postseason, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. “I think for us, it’s, like any other season, it’s a roller coaster every year, there’s gonna be ups and downs, and it’s all about how you manage it,” Brunson said. “But now that the regular season’s over, it’s all about how we can move on and be better the next day. I know it’s a term that people don’t like to hear, but we learn from what we did in the past, good and bad, and move on and get better. That’s the name of the game at this stage of the season. … So we’re just focused. We still got a long way to go with preparation, still got a long way to go making sure we’re ready to go for Saturday. We’ll be ready.”
  • The talent is there but are the Knicks tough enough to make it past the physical Pistons and other potential opponents? Newsday’s Steve Popper explores that topic in a subscriber-only story.

Atlantic Notes: Whitehead, Brown, Boucher, Knicks

As the Nets near the end of the season, their priority in the last three games will be evaluating which players might be a part of their future. As Bridget Reilly of the New York Post writes, 2023 first-round forward Dariq Whitehead is hoping to prove he should stick around with the franchise for the long run.

Still just 20 years old, Whitehead has been limited to just 19 NBA games in his first two seasons after dealing with several injuries, including a stress reaction on his leg that ended his rookie year. The Duke product said he feels he’s almost back to 100% health.

I feel it coming,” Whitehead said. “I will say it’s night and day from just trusting my body and stuff. Doing things I haven’t done in two years, which is amazing for me and I’m sure it’s amazing for the coaches and staff to see.

In 17 games this year, Whitehead is averaging 6.2 points while shooting 44.8% on 3.9 three-point attempts per game. Over 75% of his shots have come from beyond the arc.

This is going to be an important summer for me,” Whitehead said. “Since I’ve been hurt, I haven’t been able to just work on those things, which is getting my athleticism back and just doing certain movements. Just me attacking this summer is going to be really important for me.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Celtics star Jaylen Brown is out for the team’s Friday game against the Hornets, according to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn (Twitter link). As Washburn notes, that means Brown won’t reach the 65-game threshold necessary to be eligible for postseason awards.
  • Chris Boucher has been a long-term fixture of the Raptors, making the team out of training camp in 2018/19 and becoming part of that season’s championship roster. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, there is mutual interest in another contract between Boucher and the Raptors as he hits unrestricted free agency this summer. The big man has had a strong season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game, though his role has fluctuated. “Obviously it’s not ideal, but it’s the business. I know how things go by now,” Boucher said of his minutes. “I’m trying to stay positive with how my life is and see the positive stuff, and I think I had a great year, too. I think that helps, knowing that I’m growing and being the player and the person that I want to be, so I take those wins. The season went by pretty quick, so I’ll enjoy the last few games and see what happens.
  • The Knicks are showing a willingness to rest players in the last part of the season, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post writes. If New York wins on Thursday or Indiana loses, the Knicks will clinch the third seed. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson will sit out of Thursday’s contest. New York’s playoff roster last season was depleted by injuries, so the team appears to be doing what it can do avoid history repeating itself.