Sports

Knicks double down on Mitchell Robinson commitment

DALLAS — Knicks coach David Fizdale is proceeding full steam ahead on using rookie Mitchell Robinson as the starting center, hinting it may be for the rest of the season. That talk of three weeks ago that Mitchell was destined to spend time in the G-League is dead.

While the Westchester Knicks opened their season Friday in Portland, Maine, against the Maine Red Claws, the 20-year-old “Cajun Kid” was nearly 2,000 miles away in Big D. He was netting the first double-double of his career (13 points, 10 rebounds) during the Knicks’ 118-106 win over the Mavericks. It was his fourth straight start.

“It’s kind of changed, but he’s grown,’’ Fizdale said regarding the G-League pronouncement he made Oct. 10.

For the first time, Fizdale didn’t mention anything about “revolving doors” regarding Robinson’s status. Fizdale wants this to stick, saying, “Let’s get this generated now,” and adding that the 7-foot shot-blocker embodies the Knicks’ defensive mindset.





All this will be much to the chagrin of former starting center Enes Kanter. It also should be noted Kanter had a rough defensive outing in the loss to the Pacers on Wednesday.

“One thing about [Robinson] that I’ve noticed is he picks stuff up quick,” Fizdale said. “For a guy that didn’t play a whole year of basketball, man, he absorbs stuff fast and he applies it to the game pretty quickly. I’m looking at our team and I’m looking at our future, and we understand that to build the organization and the team that we want, we got to be a defensive-minded team, and Mitchell Robinson is a superior natural defender, so I just felt like let’s get this generated now.





“He’s going to be our foundation, our anchor of our defense for the future. Let’s get this guy going right now and really commit to the development of these guys and to what it’s going to take to get them to where they need to be for us to be the team we’re going to be later.”

Those are potent words from Fizdale, who ransacked the starting lineup after five games last Friday before facing the Warriors, adding it could change after the next five-game block. But Robinson seems safe. Kanter has remained the good soldier, though he does not appear pleased.

To his credit, Robinson, selected in the second round at No. 35 overall, said he was fine to do G-League work if that’s what Fizdale wants.





“I don’t have a problem with it,” Robinson told The Post. “Whatever coach needed me to do. If he needed me in the G-League for a little bit, I’d just be there. If he still thinks I need to work on certain things in the G-League, coach knows best if it can help me out.”

Though numbers don’t tell the story of his penchant for altering shots, Robinson is averaging 4.2 points, 0.8 blocks and three rebounds per game while shooting 61 percent in 14 minutes. He dealt with an ankle sprain in the preseason that caused him to miss time, and he re-sprained it during the season opener after being on the court for less than two minutes.

But the ankle is no longer an issue. Robinson’s offensive game still needs a lot of work. His highlight moment was stealing a pass against the Nets and blowing downcourt for a high-flying dunk.





The unforeseen promotion has boosted Robinson’s confidence.

“I appreciate [Fizdale] a lot,” he said. “It feels great to start. It’s everybody’s dream.”

Not only did Robinson skip college to train a year for the draft without playing an organized game, he’s also a late-comer to hoops. Robinson said it was 10th grade when he first started playing.

“I was 14, 15 — 10th grade,” said Robinson, who grew up in Pensacola, Fla., before moving to the New Orleans suburbs. “I didn’t play at all really. Just started getting into it in the 10th grade. I didn’t have people to push me to play it. I grew into it on my own.”

That explains a lot of his rawness, too. Foul trouble was a big issue during summer league, but hasn’t hurt him yet in the regular season.

“He doesn’t make as many [bad fouls] as you think,” Fizdale said. “Every game for him is like a huge jump where he can just absorb it, learn from it and take it into the next game. He’s a student. He really gets into his film and the coaches. He listens to details on the court. He really focuses in on details, so a kid like that with that kind of natural ability and coordination, he’s the kind of guy that can get fast-tracked.”

And so he is.





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