There were no instances of hack-a-Robinson on Monday night.
The Knicks center’s presence was felt without that ploy to get him out of the game in the 107-106 loss to the Hawks in Game 2.
Mitchell Robinson was terrific at both ends of the floor, notching 13 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a block in 18 minutes.
A lot had been made of the Hawks intentionally putting him on the free-throw line in Game 1, when Robinson went 1-for-4 at the charity stripe. Coach Mike Brown refuses to let that alter his game plan or how he would use Robinson.
“We’ll probably just keep in [our] normal rotation and at the end of the day, he’s going to get an opportunity, and we’re confident he’ll knock them down,” Brown said before the game. “If we need to make a change, we feel confident in Josh [Hart] playing the center, especially the way we’re playing. We’re OK with them fouling Mitch, if that’s what they want to do.”
Robinson went to the line just twice, and split a pair of free throws. He was impactful. It just wasn’t enough as the Knicks failed to sweep the first two games of the series at home.
“More than anything, it’s the respect for him as a player,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, referring to the Game 1 strategy against Robinson. “I think every game’s different in that regard, every quarter is different. Do you weigh one more foul, do you sub definitely? That’s one of those things we’ll continue to evaluate. … Them being in the bonus didn’t impact as much, but it also has an impact on how we play offensively, too, [when he’s not in the game].”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
