Mitchell Robinson had his best game of the season on Tuesday, putting up 14 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in the Knicks’ win over the Sixers.
His rhythm and conditioning seem to be trending in the right direction.
“Still got a lot of work to do,” Robinson said late Tuesday night.
When asked to elaborate on where he wants to be conditioning-wise, Robinson chuckled and said, “I need to be able to play like seven minutes straight. But, been working on the conditioning stuff still so, we rollin’.”
The rust is understandable. Robinson missed 10 months while rehabbing from ankle/foot surgery.
The Knicks took a cautious approach with their backup center. They held him out until they felt he was 100 percent healthy and able to sustain that health.
Robinson has played well over his past three games. Tuesday’s performance against the Sixers was his best yet. He is playing this season at a much lighter weight than in past years.
“Way lighter now,” Robinson said. “…. All that extra weight that I was carrying last year and the year before that was just keeping me down. But now, (I’m) lighter, and I feel better.”
The Knicks will rely on Robinson to play rotation minutes off the bench in the postseason. They clearly feel confident about Robinson’s ability to fill the role; they passed on any opportunity to acquire a backup center at the deadline, essentially betting that Robinson could be healthy and productive by the time the playoffs rolled around.
Robinson on Tuesday said that he hopes to have his conditioning all the way back by the time the playoffs start.
“The way I’ve been working, I feel like I can. That’s the goal,” he said. “I’m just going to continue to keep working, work on my conditioning and keep going.”
Robinson hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back this season. It’s unclear if the Knicks will hold him out of Wednesday’s game against the Cavs.
BRUNSON WEEKEND?
Also on the injury front, I think this weekend is a realistic timeframe for Jalen Brunson’s return from injury. Brunson has been out with a right ankle sprain since March 8. The Knicks play at Atlanta on Saturday and host Phoenix on Sunday. Based on the current trajectory, I’d expect Brunson to return during one of those games.
SHAMET STREAKING
Landry Shamet had 20 points and hit six threes against the Sixers. He’s made 19 of his last 40 three-point attempts. This is a welcome sign for a Knick team that needs Shamet’s scoring and defense off the bench.
Late last month, Shamet said he was comfortable with whatever the Knicks needed from him on a given night.
“I think you just lean into the fact that - I’ve said this before - it’s going to be something different night to night,” Shamet ...
