Will Mitchell Robinson’s Return Be Enough for Knicks?

The New York Knicks are riding in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference so far this season.

Their offense is helping them emerge to becoming an above-average team, but the defense is preventing them from being elite.

Reconfiguring the lineup with Karl-Anthony Towns has helped the offense, but the defense has taken a hit after losing Isaiah Hartenstein. That’s why the Knicks could benefit from the return of Mitchell Robinson, who has yet to play this season due to his recovery from ankle surgery.

“Fortunately, we know Towns can be part of an elite defense if he’s not tasked with anchoring the back line. That’s exactly how things played out when he worked alongside Rudy Gobert in Minnesota last season,” Bleacher Report contributor Grant Hughes writes.

“Mitchell Robinson isn’t a defender on Gobert’s level, but his size and length could make him a decent facsimile. Is fixing the Knicks’ defense as simple as waiting for a true rim-protector to get healthy and/or come aboard via trade? Or do the issues go deeper than that?”

Robinson was expected to return by December or January, but his timeline continues to be pushed back. Now, there’s reason to believe he may not be back until February or even after the All-Star break.

When Robinson comes back, he will be slowly ingratiated into the lineup. He won’t start next to Towns and play 35 minutes a night. In the playoffs, he may barely crack Tom Thibodeau’s small rotation.

Robinson is a depth piece at best for the Knicks, which is why the team’s defensive woes won’t be saved solely by him. While he and Precious Achiuwa can help, the Knicks either need to make another major personnel change or figure out how to play better with the crew that they have.

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