Knicks Really Need Mitchell Robinson Back, Loss to Celtics Shows

The New York Knicks fell to 0-5 against the NBA Eastern Conference’s top two teams with this afternoon’s 105-118 loss to the Boston Celtics.

This season, New York has lost by an average of 21.2 points to the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, including a blowout 37-point defeat by Cleveland on Friday.

Watching them play the Cavs, Celtics, and the 45-10 Oklahoma City Thunder — against whom the Knicks have already lost the season series — it’s hard to see them as a legitimate third-place team in the East, despite their .649 winning percentage.

Defense Is the Knicks’ Achilles’ Heel

While the Knicks boast one of the league’s best offenses — thanks to the addition of center Karl-Anthony Towns in an October trade — it has also led to a decline in their defense, particularly against the pick-and-roll.

Towns’ inability to rotate on the pick-and-roll has been glaring all year, right from the start.

The Knicks’ struggles with weak-side rotations were exposed in the season opener against the Celtics, in which they lost by 23 points. The absence of center Mitchell Robinson, who’s been out after ankle surgery, has been glaring.

While the Knicks are tied for the NBA’s third-best offense, they’ve fallen from 9th-rated defense in the 2023-24 season to 20th this season. Robinson’s interior defense is clearly being missed, though the losses of Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein have also factored.

Robinson’s Weaknesses Aside, the Knicks Won’t Go Far Without Him

Robinson is, however, an offensive liability. While he’s one of the game’s best offensive rebounders, he can’t make a free throw shot for the life of him. Robinson shot just 41% from behind the free-throw line last season. He is, however, a significant lob threat and an adept pick-and-roll player.

Even after factoring Robinson’s downsides, it’s clear that without him, the Knicks are likely headed for a second-round playoff exit with their current roster.

If the playoffs began today, as the third seed, they would face the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons, against whom they’ve lost two out of their three games this season.

Now, even if the Knicks prevail against the Pistons, in the current playoff scenario, they would then face the winner of the 2nd and 7th seed series in the second round. That would probably mean a second-round battle against the Celtics.

The Knicks have the worst defensive rating in the NBA against both the Celtics and the Cavs. The mismatch is clear. They need Robinson, in spite of his offensive weaknesses, to boost their rim protection and pick-and-roll defense.

Their offense may take a bit of a hit, but scoring isn’t their problem — defense is.