Mitchell Robinson continues to evolve vs Raptors

Knicks fans have a lot to be excited about in Mitchell Robinson, the uber-lengthy former second-round pick that looks like the franchise's center of the future. There's already a case for him to be a larger part of the team's offense, and his defense remains exhilarating for a player this young and early in his career.

There is still tons of room for improvement, and with a postseason berth looking all the more impossible this season, signs of development from New York's young core will be a primary factor driving fans to keep flipping on the game. Against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden Friday night, we witnessed a good one:

This was one of the first times Robinson has caught the ball on the short roll and almost instinctively knew where the open man was and hit him with a strong pass - resulting in what arguably should have been an and-one. It's not often he's put in this position, as few teams trap the Knicks' ball handlers and Mitch will usually roll straight to the rim. But on past occasions he hasn't shown the ability to make the right play from this position, let alone that effectively. 

As Robinson develops as a roll threat, he'll have to pick up new ways to counteract any defensive adjustments he meets. Becoming comfortable with this read is a major step, as opponents will clog and obstruct his rim-running as they do against similar archetypes: DeAndre Jordan, Rudy Gobert, etc. Once Robinson is continually able to stop his roll short and find the open weak-side shooter, he can move on to learning how to see and make that pass in motion as he's catching the ball on the move. His absurd height and reach should give him an advantage on these types of plays, being able to snatch the ball and make strong finds over any defender in the league. 

We're still in the early stages of what Robinson can become, but every possession he's seemingly learning and adopting new skills should entice Knicks fans to no end. If Mitch can keep making these strides, there's no ceiling to what he can become.