Mitchell Robinson Trainer Rips New York Knicks' 'Me, Me Ball!'
Supposed selfishness has led the New York Knicks to ditch Mitch on offense, NBA trainer Marcell Scott appears to claim.
Scott is one of many to chime in the Knicks' slow starts, one that has seen them drop four of their first six games in the follow-up to their most successful season in a decade. New York's offense has been particularly perplexing: the Knicks (2-4) are the only team in the NBA hitting less than 40 percent of their shots and have already been held to less than 90 points on two occasions (happening just once all of last year).
The tenured trainer Scott pins at least some of the blame on the current offensive set-up, which he claims has completely forgotten his client and Knicks starting center Mitchell Robinson.
"Dam 23 is not even much a lob threat anymore," Scott wrote on his Instagram story after the Knicks dropped a 110-105 decision to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday (h/t New York Basketball on X). "What ever happened to rewarding ur bigs (sometimes) for busting their ass. its a lot of ME, ME ball in NY !! GN. [sic]".
Robinson's offensive impact has once again been cast in an unwanted spotlight
Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS
This is far from the first time that Robinson's offensive impact has been called into question: the center himself chimed in on his offensive usage ... or lack thereof ... last season in a Snapchat discourse that claimed he was "tired ... of just being out there for cardio."
Robinson has never, and likely never will, be relied upon as a primary scoring option, as most of his points are earned no further than three feet from the basket. But there is a noticeable lack of Robinson entries to the scoresheet in the very, very early going, as he's averaging a career-low 5.2 points a game. Robinson has maintained the duties of a traditional NBA center well to the tune of eight blocks and an Association-best 42 offensive rebounds, but his desires to impact the offensive game on a wider level, however, appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
As for Scott's claims of "ME, ME ball," the Knicks have leaned toward a new brand of isolation basketball that has them craving shots from the outside. Early criticism, however, has been levied toward two-time All-Star Julius Randle, who has hit just over 27 percent of his attempts from the field in the first six. Randle was 5-of-20, including 1-of-9 from three-point range, in the Knicks' Friday loss to the Bucks. Robinson had 15 rebounds but missed four would-be tip-ins in defeat.
That has drawn the ire of Scott, whose previous clients include NBA champion and eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis. Scott lauded Robinson's progress over the offseason, hinting at new "go-to" offensive moves from the seven-footer and imploring head coach Tom Thibodeau to draw up new plays for him.
"I can say (that Robinson) improved his free-throw shooting, his athleticism is back from him buying into the pool workouts!" Scott said in a September post. "Mitch has developed a few go-to moves with his back to the basket!!! “ Coach Thibs give him that freedom on the offensive end…”
Time will tell if Thibodeau and Co. heed Scott's requests. The next opportunity to do so lands on Monday when the Knicks face the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
