Some players in the Knicks locker room have jokingly nicknamed their rookie center “Mercedes Mitch.’’
Mitchell Robinson, a car fanatic and amateur mechanic, recently inked an endorsement deal with Mercedes-Benz, which gave him a vehicle with which to play around.
Knicks coach David Fizdale calls his rising prospect “Mister Robinson.” It’s an ode to Robinson’s poise after hopping from high school to the NBA and eschewing college.
“I call him Mr. Robinson because I’ve just been so impressed with his maturity that I put mister in front of his last name,’’ Fizdale said. “He’s still a young guy, but he is very mature with his approach, how serious he is about competing, getting better, holding guys accountable. He’s got a very surprising level of maturity that I’ve been really impressed with. So I started about a month ago calling him Mr. Robinson. I said, ‘I’m going to call you mister from now on.’ ”
The athletic shot-blocking machine from New Orleans has already drawn comparisons to Patrick Ewing, and got a massive plug from owner James Dolan during his radio interview Tuesday.
“Mitchell Robinson is like a phenomenon,’’ Dolan said. “Mitchell Robinson was drafted in the second round, 36th overall. You know how many teams passed on Mitchell? How many wish they had Mitchell? What happened [is] he didn’t play, teams got scared. Steve [Mills] and Scott [Perry] saw his ability, what we can develop.’’
Robinson, 20, will likely smash Ewing’s rookie record for blocks per game. Ewing averaged 2.06. Robinson is averaging 2.4. Mr. Robinson’s Block Party will almost certainly see him break Kristaps Porzingis’ rookie record for most blocks in a season at 134. Robinson has 126.
“I think he’s got potential to be defensive player of the year,’’ Fizdale said. “Definitely lead the league in blocked shots. He’ll be a guy, too, as a center, he’ll be a top steals guy in that position. He gets his hands on a lot of things and anticipates really well. A lot of the stuff he’s doing — he didn’t play a whole year of basketball. All the stuff is new and fresh and he’s seen it for the first time and he’s doing what he’s doing. It’s pretty impressive.”
Robinson is soft spoken but with a sense of humor. In the locker room, he often pretends to be public relations director, asking reporters who they want to talk to and playfully deciding when media availability is over. He has nicknamed one beat writer Bus Driver — because he thinks he looks like one.
Regarding his Mercedes-Benz sponsorship as a reflection of a stout rookie season, Robinson said, “I’m working, trying to get better and good things are coming.”
He still needs to get stronger, though Fizdale has already seen growth. During the open scrimmage in October at the Garden, there was one notable play when Enes Kanter backed in on Robinson all the way to the hoop.
“You could see it in his post defense,’’ Fizdale said. “When you reflect back to summer league, guys would back him down and push him under the rim. That’s just not happening anymore. He’s really holding his ground well without fouling and being able to stay in place because his core is so much stronger.”
“I’m going to get stronger and I’m working on it,’’ Robinson said.
The next step is adding a jumper. Robinson is averaging 6.8 points, but has taken one jump shot all season — a 10-footer he made against Atlanta. He hoisted one jumper in preseason — an airball. In shooting 70 percent, his points come on either alley-oop dunks, putbacks or bunnies by the rim.
“Slowly but surely,’’ Fizdale said. “I feel comfortable with him letting it fly because his free throws are coming along. Anything outside the paint — the first thing we wanted to tackle was can he be a good free throw shooter? A lot of his stuff is in traffic, offensive rebounds, putbacks. The next layer will be allowing him to shoot pick-and-pop jump shots.’’
Though Fizdale doesn’t run plays for him, Robinson said there are shooting opportunities.
“I could when we run elbow action, the guys guarding me back up,’’ Robinson said. “I can shoot it. I like to go with the play. The play usually gets us an easier bucket probably than me shooting.”
Spoiler:
