Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein Painting Knicks' Playoff Success

The New York Knicks' interior threats Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein have been literal big men in the team's NBA Playoff fortunes against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Many a New York Knicks center has undoubtedly been compared to the skyscrapers that surround Madison Square Garden and rise above the rest of the boroughs. 

Current New Yorkers Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein have lived up to the sky-high reputation, towering above the Knicks' ongoing playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks' defensive efforts, which have held the Cavaliers under 100 points in each of their three wins (including a 102-93 triumph in Game 3 on Sunday afternoon), have offered plenty of opportunities for Robinson and Hartenstein to showcase their regular rebounding prowess and push the team within one win of their first playoff advancement in 10 years. 

"(I'm) very, very pleased,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of the pair, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “That tandem, from the second half of the season on, Mitch is the anchor of the defense. Isaiah gives us the rim protection and he’s different offensively. So there are different components to it.”

Both Robinson and Hartenstein are among the contingent of new Knicks partaking in metropolitan postseason affairs. The starter Robinson was on the New York roster during the team's postseason cameo in 2021 but missed the five-game set against Atlanta due to an injury. Even the briefest glimpse at the New York ledgers indicates he's making up for lost time and then some.

With all eight NBA postseason series having played at least three games thus far, Robinson leads all combatants with 4.5 offensive rebounds per game, partly leading to 17.8 second chance tallies for New York over the opening quartet against the Cavs. 

It's Robinson's defense, however, that's drawing rave reviews in the early going. The box scores are indicative enough with Robinson's eight blocks being tied with Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards for third-best among championship candidates. But his teammates are letting the defense flow to him, which has played a major role in building the 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. 

I thought Mitchell Robinson was absolutely phenomenal. He had his hands all over so many plays when he was on the court. The weak corner being unoccupied leaves the NYK with no one to hedge down onto Mobley, so Randle is unable to help off him. No matter, Mitch saves the day. pic.twitter.com/73AM3xOj5v

— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) April 24, 2023

"Mitch, being the shot-blocker that he is, you can jump into your man a little bit," Sixth Man of the Year candidate Immanuel Quickley said of what Robinson can do, per Fred Katz of The Athletic. "(You can) be a little bit more aggressive, try to go for steals, be a little bit more disruptive. And you’re sending him right to No. 23, so it helps out a lot.”

With seven offensive rebounds in Sunday's win (partly leading to a 21-12 advantage in second-chance points in a nine-point triumph), Robinson became the first Knick to reach such a tally in a playoff game since Tyson Chandler did so in 2013's second round series against Indiana. 

After a rough start in the early portions of the season, Hartenstein has fulfilled the vision the Knicks had for him upon signing him to a free agency deal from the opposite coast last summer. Taking over for a Taj Gibson/Nerlens Noel tandem, Hartenstein is perhaps best known as the Knicks' iron man, being the only New Yorker to partake in all 82 regular season games this season. 

Earlier in the year, Knicks management tried to wedge Hartenstein into more of a traditional center's role after he showcased some playmaking abilities in a breakout season with the Los Angeles Clippers. When the Knicks showed a bit of reluctance to tamper with a relatively victorious formula, Hartenstein eased himself into it and became a reliable, regular contributor. 

Even then, he was able to showcase some of the facilitation he created in Southern California: during a nationally-televised blowout win over defending champion Golden State in December, TNT's Brian Anderson referred to Hartenstein as "(Nikola) Jokic Lite," referring to the two-time defending NBA MVP in Denver.

Isaiah "Jokic of the East" Hartenstein with three sweet DIMES in garbage time pic.twitter.com/8c0gTLbN2e

— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) December 21, 2022

Hartenstein's impact in the Cleveland series is displayed in the advanced box scores: he ranks in the top two of assist, block, and steal percentages amongst New Yorkers that have played at least 20 minutes a game. 

While the Knicks face legitimately formidable interior competition in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, Hartenstein hinted that his best, scariest opponents might very well be Robinson ... at least from a mentally comedic point of view.

"We just have the same energy,” Hartenstein said in Katz's report. “We come into the locker room, and we roast each other most of the time.”

The big men's first opportunity to close out the Cleveland series lands on Wednesday, when the series moves back to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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