Thank You James Dolan: Mitchell Robinson Becoming A Celtic Is Going To Turn Them Into An Even Bigger Wagon

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

There was certainly a lot of movement across the league this past offseason, but one move in particular that I feel as though has sort of gone under the radar a little bit is Mitchell Robinson. I think because Mitch's decision to go from the Knicks to the Celtics happened on the same day as the Jaylen Brown trade, it didn't really receive much attention (obviously), but there's a very real possibility that and the end of the day it proves to be one of the most impactful moves of the entire offseason.

And let me get this out of the way now. I am aware of Mitch's limitations. I am aware of his inability to play for long spurts, his conditioning issues, and certainly his health risk. The thing is, my expectation is that he only plays around 50-55 games, so I factor all that stuff in. I know he's not going to be a 35 minute a night center who plays 70 games. I don't need him to. All I, and the Celtics specifically, need from Mitch is for him to just be himself for whatever time he's on the floor.

Why? Because just like we saw for years while he was ruining our lives as a member of the Knicks, when Mitchell Robinson is on the floor his impact is UNDENIABLE

You know how I talk about instances where it's weird to see a player wear a specific jersey? That 1000000% applies here to Mitch. I'm sure seeing this makes Knicks fans sick, and I get that. I feel the same way about Jaylen Brown wearing a Sixers jersey. It's still taking my brain a little bit to process Mitch in a Celtics jersey, but what I'm seeing?

Giphy Images.

When the Celtics would play the Knicks, it was always so fucking annoying how Mitchell Robinson would come in and completely change the game. They could never keep him off the glass, it felt like he was ALWAYS around the ball, the way he would cause deflections and guard in space made it tough to single him out in isolation or run DHOs, and even if you beat him, his ability to recover and block shots at the rim was always an issue. It's why Mazzulla would Hack-a-Mitch, because giving up a FT here or there was a much better decision than trying to survive with him on the floor. He may be one if not the best role players at maximizing the margins, and as we know, the margins are what win you titles. 

Now having been on the other side of it for a few preseason games, I get it. It's incredible. It's like having another superpower on the floor on both ends. Defensively, he can guard in space, he can move his feet, he can contest/block shots without fouling, you can play him in drop or at the level, there is no coverage or scheme he cannot survive in. To me, I find that to be extremely valuable. Offensively, I don't think we're ready for the P&R tandem we're about to see between Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson. We've seen great pairings in the past and how successful Tatum can be with a solid rim-running big, well…..you see those highlights. Look at those lobs! It's automatic. You give the best passing wing since LeBron THIS type of roller and it brings me back to the early Tatum/Rob days. 

I'll remind you, Mitchell Robinson finished in the 99th percentile as a roll man in P&R last year, which was the best of any center. As a team, the Celts finished in the 69th percentile in P&R Roll man offense last year, which was good for 10th. Adding in this caliber of player should have them comfortably in the top 5. Why does that matter? Because P&R is how this team is going to generate rim pressure outside of Tatum and Pritchard isolation possessions. Remember, Neemias Queta also finished in the 86th percentile in P&R and Garza in the 82nd percentile.

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Mitch - 99th percentile

Queta - 86th percentile

Garzilla - 82nd percentile

How do you counter shooting variance? You run P&R and just lob it to your center and let him dunk it. Brad Stevens took that approach, and then added the best P&R center on the market. What a guy. Then, when you're not running P&R, you can just unleash Mitch on the offensive glass. I'd say this was probably what I was most excited for with the Robinson addition, and it's even better than I could have dreamed for. He's EVERYWHERE. It's as if he's a vacuum that just inhales everything and anything that comes off the rim. His motor is ridiculous and I can't even imagine all the extra possessions he's going to create just by being a beast on the offensive glass.

The craziest part? It's felt like Mitch has dominated the offensive glass so far this preseason……and his OREB% has only been 13%. That number alone is pretty fucking solid, but then you remember he lived at 23% last year. He's basically 2x as good as what we've seen so far once the real games start! How does that make any sense? I dunno, but it does.

At the end of the day, all I can do is thank James Dolan. Thank you for refusing to go over the 2nd apron and keeping your longest-tenured, most impactful player on your roster. Mitch could have easily remained a Knick if it weren't for James Dolan, so I cannot thank him enough. Not only did he remove one of the biggest thorns in the Celtics' side, he basically allowed them to obtain another Infinity Stone. What a guy.