Mitchell Robinson Makes Difference For Knicks

New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has been back for a month, and his presence has been felt.

Since his return to the team on Feb. 28, the Knicks have been one of the best defensive teams in the league, and Robinson's rim protection has certainly helped with that.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes named Robinson as the one player who could make or break the Knicks.

"Mitchell Robinson hasn't even played a month's worth of games for the New York Knicks since returning from his ankle injury, but he's looked a lot like the board-hoarding, shot-deterring force he was before he got hurt," Hughes writes.

"On a per-36-minute basis, Robinson is actually posting five-year highs in points and steals, while rebounding and blocking shots at rates right in line with his norms."

"The real giveaway as to his impact is the 7.6 percent boost he provides to New York's offensive rebound rate, a 97th percentile figure among bigs. The Knicks are built around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, but a few second-chance points generated by Robinson could go a long way — especially if he's healthy and mobile enough to provide the interior defense Towns rarely does."

The Knicks needed a player like Robinson, and their patience with him appears to be paying off. Robinson suffered an ankle injury last season that limited him to just 31 games. He re-aggravated that injury during the team's playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, which forced him to get offseason surgery.

It took him nine months to heal from the surgery and get back on the court, and now the Knicks have him healthy and ready to go for the team's most important time of the year.

If he can take it even one more notch in the playoffs, the Knicks could compete against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.

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