Because the Knicks ponder whether or not to retain Mitchell Robinson on a long-term contract, his affect on the offensive glass continues to soar.
The pending free-agent heart recorded 10 offensive rebounds and 12 boards total in Friday’s 110-107 victory over the Wizards on the Backyard. Robinson trails solely Grizzlies large man Steven Adams in offensive rebounds per sport this season, averaging 4.02 over 64 appearances.
“Big … these effort performs, they encourage your group,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau stated after the sport Friday. “Our rebounding has been off the charts, that’s an enormous a part of profitable. It's a must to hold enhancing … hold combating, scratching. No matter we gotta do, we gotta do proper now.”
The Knicks (30-40) leapfrogged the Wizards into the eleventh place within the Jap Convention with their second straight win, however they started play Saturday 5 video games behind Charlotte and Atlanta for the ultimate two play-in berths with 12 video games remaining. Thibodeau’s group will face the Hawks on Tuesday at house and can go to the Hornets the next evening after internet hosting the Jazz on Sunday evening on the Backyard.
Led by Julius Randle’s 10.0 rebounds per sport, the Knicks rank third within the league in group rebounding (46.6) this season. Robinson’s 8.7 rebounds per sport symbolize a profession excessive over his 4 NBA seasons.
“I believe we’ve been fairly good a lot of the yr,” Thibodeau stated. “There are all these completely different metrics individuals use to measure issues. My eyes inform me issues, too. I do know if a man is guarding the ball properly. I do know if a group is within the gaps. I do know if a group is retaining the ball out of the paint. I do know if a group is difficult pictures. I do know if a group is rebounding.”
Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. is aware of, too, and he criticized his large males — together with former Knicks All-Star Kristaps Porzingis — for not stopping Robinson from dominating the offensive glass. That dominance led to twenty second-chance factors for the Knicks.
“That’s what he does, that’s how he impacts the sport, and we allowed him to try this,” Unseld stated. “Ten offensive rebounds is inexcusable, completely. Twenty second-chance factors, you’re not gonna win many video games like that.”
“Big, man. Big. He’s been doing that for us all yr,” added Randle, who had 18 factors and 17 rebounds (16 defensive) in opposition to the Wizards. “So, I suppose we count on it, nevertheless it’s not regular for a man to try this constantly each evening. However him bringing that vitality and energy, attacking the offensive glass and discovering offense that approach and defending the rim like he does is big for us.”
Rookie heart Jericho Sims additionally grabbed 4 offensive rebounds in quarter-hour off the bench, contributing to the Knicks’ 19 total.
“The strain they’re placing on the rim, too, in case you don’t react to that, you’re giving up a dunk,” Thibodeau stated of Robinson and Sims. “Should you do react, then RJ [Barrett] can get to the rim, and Julius can get to the rim,”
The 7-foot Robinson additionally scored 15 factors within the win on 6-for-10 taking pictures, leaving his field-goal proportion for the season at .766. That might eclipse the league document of .742 he set in 2019-20, however Robinson shouldn't be at present eligible to win that title. A participant now wants a minimal of 300 made discipline objectives to qualify for the league lead, so Robinson would wish to transform 68 pictures over the group’s last 12 video games (5.6 per sport) to be thought-about.
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