In talking with scouts and executives about New York, center Mitchell Robinson is brought up repeatedly as a potential fix for New York’s issues with Towns at center. Robinson, however, has missed more than 20 games in three of the past four seasons. He played just 31 games last year and is out for several more weeks due to offseason ankle surgery.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
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The Knicks also led the NBA in offensive rebounding last year, but with Towns replacing the Hartenstein-Robinson duo — and with Precious Achiuwa also sidelined to start the season — they have pulled down 29 offensive boards through three games to rank 27th in the league through Monday’s action. “I think it’s just consistent effort,” Thibodeau said. “You’ve got to keep going. I think when you force a defense to collapse and you put them in rotation, you get the movement and it’s drive pass-pass, there’s going to be opportunities on shots that are missed to go get it. -via New York Post / October 30, 2024
Thibodeau called coming together “the challenge with any team,” but it hasn’t been easy after the Knicks overhauled last year’s 50-win squad with the departures of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in the Towns trade with Minnesota and Isaiah Hartenstein via free agency. Big men Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa also are injured to start the season. “That’s why you put everything you have into each and every day and you strive for improvement,” Thibodeau said. “The games reveal exactly where you are, it tells you the things you need to work on, and even if it’s going well, if you have slippage, you’re gonna have to sort it out. -via New York Post / October 25, 2024
“I think they’re different players in some ways, but similar in others,” Thibodeau said. “I think Julius is more of a power forward, but a terrific player. When you look at what he did for us, the scoring, the passing, rebounding, but it’s at the power forward position. “We had a great need obviously with Mitchell Robinson [injured] and Isaiah [Hartenstein] losing [him] in free agency. We needed a center. That was a big part of it, so I think the center position … when I look at Karl, I like his versatility and his size is important to us.” -via New York Post / October 14, 2024