Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson Issues Warning Before Wizards Game

The New York Knicks have won five straight games, and it’s difficult to look at that and say things are not going well. They’re likely to pick up a sixth straight win against the Wizards on Sunday night, seeing as Washington is on a 15-game losing streak. But, of course, this is the Knicks, so there would be a touch of drama even if everything was going to plan. And in reality, even with the streak, this has just not looked like a team capable of winning the Eastern Conference lately, and Mitchell Robinson has not been afraid to say so.

Before facing the Wizards, the Knicks had wins against the 21-win Jazz, two wins against the 15-win Pacers, a win against the injury-ravaged Warriors and a win over the 17-win Nets. The Knicks struggled in each game, especially in the first quarter.

They trailed 22-14–yes, 14–in the first quarter against the Nets on Friday, and just managed to grind out a 93-92 win. But the Knicks have, simply, not been good lately, no matter the record.

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Mitchell Robinson: ‘Let’s Get Gritty’

It’s been a team that has lacked a certain toughness throughout the season, and it seems that arguably the toughest guy on the team–Robinson–is calling the Knicks out for it.

He posted on Instagram a photo of him getting into a minor scuffle with the Nets in the Friday win, a game in which he was hit with a technical foul for his reaction to being undercut on a rebound. Robinson wrote a warning: “Let’s get gritty then. Yall ain’t gone like this new mindset # standingonbusiness”

Certainly, it is a nice thought. The Knicks need more grit. But they’ve had an issue all season with the starting five playing a bit too pretty, while the bench, including Robinson, is where the grit can be found. The Knicks need a better mix.

 

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Mitchell Robinson Warns Knicks Must Stop Looking at Opponents’ Records

Robinson said on Friday it’s up to the Knicks to start better and take the bottom-feeders as seriously as they do the contenders.

“[The Nets] brought the fight to us. They came out. They wanted to prove a point obviously, so our approach has to be better,” Robinson said . “We can’t just look at their record and just say, ‘Alright, we’re gonna whip their ass.’ They grown-ass men just like us. They’re in the NBA just like us. Our approach has to be better, more respect. That’s all.

“Our approach in shootaround, the way we come to the game. We’ve gotta be ready to go.”

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Knicks Soft Schedule Will Toughen Up

Again, the Wizards do not figure to be much of a challenge, and the Knicks are fortunate to be going through some tough times while also being fed a diet of cupcakes. But the fact is, the cupcakes are not going to keep coming. The Knicks are gonna need a little of that grit.

The Pelicans come to town on Tuesday, and they’re not tanking–they’ve won 10 of their last 15, in fact. The Knicks get a four-game road test after that, with Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Houston on tap–teams with a combined 136-76 record–followed by the tanking Grizzlies.

At 46-25, the Knicks are 2.0 games ahead of Cleveland for the No. 4 seed and 2.0 games behind Boston for No. 2.

 

 

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney