A lot of ink has been spilled over Mitchell Robinson’s slow start in green, but there was one sequence on Wednesday night — before the Celtics fumbled away their big lead and clawed their way to the finish line of a win over a spunky Milwaukee team — that suggested Robinson is going to be just fine.
Robinson’s defense deterring a Kyle Kuzma drive led to a Derrick White steal and play broke out the other way. Robinson was 88 feet from the basket at that moment but absolutely turned on the jets while beating most of the Bucks down the floor.
Robinson wasn’t immediately rewarded, but the hustle left him in prime position to attack. Robinson absolutely bulldozed Milwaukee’s Kasparas Jakučionis, using his backside to relocate the 6-foot-5 guard from the charge circle all the way to the free throw line before White delivered the entry pass for an easy layup.
It was Robinson’s only bucket on a night when he simply couldn’t get a second-chance attempt to fall. But the box score lies. Robinson might have finished 1-of-8 shooting with only three points, but his 10 rebounds (six on the offensive glass) and that one sprinting sequence emphasized how he can generate easy points for Boston when he stays in overdrive.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla spent much of his pregame press conference pushing back on some of the rumbles that Robinson had been a disappointment to start his Boston tenure. Mazzulla reasoned that Robinson could still impact winning while settling into a different role, one that might be requiring him to expend even more energy than he did coming off the bench last season for the world champion Knicks.
The on/off splits certainly haven’t made a strong case for Robinson’s impact. The Celtics have been outscored by 12.7 points per 100 possessions during his 135 minutes of floor time but dominated opponents by 16.9 points per 100 possessions in his 254 minutes on the bench. That’s a minus-29.6 differential, far and away the worst differential on the team.
And while Mazzulla did his best to pump up Robinson, the coach has also hinted at a need for Robinson to improve his stamina on the court, including playing harder and faster at times.
Then Robinson turned on the jets for that one second-quarter bucket against the Bucks.
Milwaukee called timeout in the immediate aftermath and, much like last week with Payton Pritchard, it felt like Mazzulla might dole out another unexpected hug. Instead, Mazzulla just smiled as he walked to meet Robinson as he came off the court.
The insinuation was clear: More of that.
Boston players certainly need more time to figure out how to maximize lobs to Robinson on his rolls to the basket — they’re airmailed more than a few — but there’s a lot more room for error when Robinson is using his massive frame to take advantage of mismatches in the post.
That one sequence offered a road map to the sort of play that can settle a scuttling offense down in a hurry.
Robinson played only eight minutes in the second half against Milwaukee, and it was center Neemias Queta whose energy at the center position helped the Celtics get to the finish line of the win. But everyone in the Boston locker room knows that Robinson is still getting comfortable in a new situation.
“Here, we actually need him to do a little bit more and want him to do a little bit more [than in New York] and kind of explore that,” Paul George told reporters after Wednesday’s win. “I think he’s just going through that — a different playstyle for him. He’ll get there … I have no doubt. He’s got a high IQ. He plays hard. I think it’s just an adjustment.”
Robinson is actually generating more offensive rebound chances per game (5.7) in Boston compared to last season with New York (5.4). The difference? Robinson is grabbing 37.5 percent of his own misses this year, an elite number that ranks in the 98th percentile among all centers. But he’s 1) Struggled to convert those chances into points early in the season while missing a variety of close looks, and 2) He’s grabbing just 10.5 percent of his teammates misses, way down from the 21.1 percent mark that led the entire league last season.
The Celtics have to hope that, as he settles in, some of those natural talents take over. And much of the angst about Robinson’s slow start might dissipate.
One high-energy sprint on Wednesday night offered a road map to success.
