Money Mitch

Today we pay homage to the best player from Wednesday's miraculous win.

Good morning.

I don’t know if it was the two hours sleep or the aftereffects of the Cornbread gummy I took before the postgame, but yesterday was the most surreal experience from the second I got out of bed. The entire day was a daze. My brain kept reminding me what happened the night before, and yet it never sunk in. Even as I went back and rewatched the game for today’s newsletter, it’s like I was watching a work of fiction.

But here we are, with Game 3 at MSG on the horizon. Tip off is at 3:30 tomorrow. No halftime for me, but I’ll be back for Game 4.

Here’s hoping we all have a special weekend.

Money Mitch

Nearly seven years into his NBA career, Mitchell Robinson was relegated to a position similar to the one he was in on the night he was drafted:

An afterthought.

For as much fan fervor existed surrounding Robinson’s impeding return (would it be an early Christmas gift? A Valentine’s Day present? A commemoration of the Ides of March?), he often wasn’t brought up when the Knicks were discussed on a national level. Even amongst this fan base, many gave up hope that Robinson could ever be relied upon to as a core component of a contending team. Some dastardly content creators may have already pre-written summer newsletters spitballing all the ways Mitch’s contract could be used to rejigger the roster.

That would be disrespectful to anyone who already impacted playoff games and even series in the way Robinson has; the fact that he’s also the longest tenured Knick since Allan Houston gives the Haterade an extra kick¹.

So of course, with the Knicks heading back to MSG up an improbable, unfathomable two games to none, it’s the former second round pick who has been the biggest reason for their success. Once seen as a nice bonus in the Kevin Knox draft, Robinson reminded everyone that his unique skill set is as much of a game-changer today as it ever was.

For that reason, we dedicate today’s newsletter to him. I went back and focused on Mitch for all 22 minutes he played. To say the positives vastly outweighed the negatives is a gross understatement, as we’ll see below.

We start with the Knicks down 16-4 nearly eight minutes into the game:

This play didn’t connect - Brunson might want to make lob throwing an area of focus this summer - but it’s a reminder that not all non-shooters are created equal. Even with his issues catching the basketball in traffic, teams can’t ignore Robinson around the rim, in part because he’s a threat on plays like this, but also because leaving him alone is a surefire way to give up offensive boards.

After this miss, we got Mitch’s first defensive possession of the game, and he wasted no time making an impact:

Should Luke Kornet have converted this attempt? Maybe, maybe not.

But there’s no question he makes the shot if Robinson doesn’t get his hand in the vicinity. Mitch’s second jump has always been among his best qualities, and it comes in handy here.

Next defensive possession, we see the first of many one-on-ones between New York’s backup center and Boston’s best player: