Knicks Center's Glaring Issue Has One Solution

Hack-a-Shaq is so last century. But now the New York Knicks must deal with Bewitch-a-Mitch.

As one of the few traditional centers left in the modern NBA, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is a weapon from a bygone age, one still nonetheless capable of flipping a game's fortunes to the blue side. Alas for New York, Robinson has been the all-too full package in terms of throwback interior work, as Monday's Eastern Conference quarterfinal opener against the Boston Celtics proved.

Metropolitan hardwood euphoria is at a modern peak after Monday, which saw the Knicks earn a 108-105 overtime victory over the defending green champions. It was a game that saw the Knicks erase a deficit that summited at 20 before embarking on a 23-point turnaround to secure the 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven set.

The win allowed the Knicks to somewhat bury what got them into the predicament in the first place: early foul trouble for rebounding masters Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns didn't help and that forced the Knicks to turn to Robinson, the longest-tenured New Yorker that has no doubt earned his spot on a potentially special run.

Robinson's mere presence, however, turned out to be a problem for New York: as the Celtics began to build their lead in the second quarter, green reps began hound and harass Robinson, placing him at the foul line through intentional fouls amidst the early Boston runs. The strategy stifled metropolitan momentum as Robinson hit only two of his subsequent eight free throws.

Such a plan, like Robinson, is an endangered weapon, the aforementioned "Hack-a-Shaq" approach that exposed Shaquille "Superman" O'Neal's sole kryptonite: for as dominant as he was, O'Neal shot less than 53 percent from the foul line in his storied career, leading teams to frequently chase him to the charity stripe to linger in games against his Los Angeles Lakers. O'Neal was far from the first to fall victim to the concept but became its face amidst the Lakers' dominant run at the turn-of-the-century.

The NBA has sought ways cease the practice, most notably with a 2016 rule change that awards the team attacked both free throws and possession in the event of an away-from-the-ball foul.

Robinson's misses were particularly glaring when head coach Tom Thibodeau was forced to insert the exiled Precious Achiuwa (who did not play at all during the quarterfinal series against Detroit) into the New York lineup while it bided its time for Towns' return. Amidst the attacks on Robinson, Boston turned a small deficit into a somewhat wide lead. He finished the night 3-of-10 from the foul line, giving him a success rate of 7-of-25 so far this postseason.

This isn't the first time Robinson has been faced with this problem, as the center used his lengthy rehab from an ankle injury to work on his singles game. For all intents and purposes, he succeeded: in an admittedly small sample size (17 games, 19 attempts), Robinson shot a career-best 68.4 at the foul line this year. It's plagued him enough to know that there's but one solution to the issue.

"I just missed free throws," Robinson said, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. "Go to the gym and work on them.”

One might never find a better example of Towns' double-edged sword nature than Game 1: despite the issues at the foul line, Robinson posted the best plus/minus of any New Yorker on Monday (plus-13 in just under 21 minutes). When the Knicks needed defensive stops, Robinson's number was called. He got in Jayson Tatum's face during a would-be winner on Boston's last full offensive possession in regulation and he later spelled Towns on the Celtics' last attempt to tie the game in the fifth period.

That was enough for Thibodeau to offer him a vote of confidence in the aftermath.

"The thing that he does is he impacts the game,” Thibodeau said, per Schwartz. “If they go to fouling him, you’re weighing ‘what’s his impact?’ I think he was plus-13 when he was on the floor. The reason why they’re doing it is to get him off the floor. What he does is he gives us the ability to switch more, but also the ability to rim protect and rebound.”

Robinson's plus/minus certainly spoke for itself in the latter regard and he once again lived up to his rebounding hype: Robinson pulled in seven rebounds on Monday, giving him 41 so far this postseason. Adjusted to 16.3 boards per 100 possessions, Robinson is the leader among active playoff participants that have played at least six games next to Denver's superstar Nikola Jokic.

In any event, the big man is set to leave a big impact. Only time will tell which side of hardwood history it lies upon.

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