The New York Knicks are eagerly anticipating the return of backup center Mitchell Robinson to give the team a little more size in the frontcourt.
However, Robinson's return date is still a bit unclear, and his role for when he returns to the team is still a bit questionable.
Knicks Film School writer Jonathan Macri dives deep into what Robinson's duties in the rotation could look like.
"The most obvious answer is to use Robinson in an expanded version of the [Ariel] Hukporti role, taking all of the minutes Towns is on the bench and playing some minutes with KAT on the floor," Macri writes.
"Simply giving Thibs a reliable backup five should pay major dividends. Towns’ average of 34.6 minutes isn’t overly concerning, but he’s already played at least 38 minutes in a game 17 times this season - more than five times as many as last year. Having Mitch back will hopefully enable Thibodeau to give KAT the rest that he’d almost surely benefit from," he continued.
"The better question is how many KAT/Mitch minutes we’re in store for. In four games since Hukporti entered the rotation, he and Towns have shared the court for 10 total minutes, and those groups have been great in a tiny sample size. Robinson is a far more proven commodity than Huk, and could give the Knicks a glimpse of what it might look like if they use KAT as a perimeter defender come playoff time."
The Knicks will benefit from Robinson's experience, but how much will New York improve based on the veteran getting 10 or so minutes per game for a few weeks before the playoffs?
It's all speculative at the moment, but without it playing out, it's hard to envision how the Knicks become anything more than slightly better with Robinson on the floor. It just doesn't move the needle enough for a playoff contender.
