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The New York Knicks dominated and exposed the Cleveland Cavaliers, and a lot of that had to do with their physicality on the glass.
Mitchell Robinson had his best stint as a member of the Knicks, manhandling Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, which is no easy thing to do.
Robinson made history with his performance in their close-out victory, grabbing 11 offensive rebounds to become the first player in franchise history since Patrick Ewing to do so.
Offensive rebounds tonight:
11 — Mitchell Robinson
4 — Cavaliers
First Knick with 11 OREB in a playoff game since Patrick Ewing. pic.twitter.com/pWfjj7ZnZh
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 27, 2023
Moreover, he had nearly three times as many offensive rebounds as the Cavs (4) as a team.
Ironically, the Knicks actually offered to send Robinson to the Utah Jazz in a Donovan Mitchell trade, a move that Danny Ainge politely declined.
The Knicks then extended Robinson, who still had some complaints about his role with the team and took to social media multiple times to discuss that.
Robinson feels like he should be more involved in Tom Thibodeau’s offense, stating that he can be more than just a roll guy and do more damage than just put-backs.
But there’s no denying that his impact as a rebounder and rim protector is even more valuable, at least when he’s not getting into foul trouble.
Robinson could be a huge factor in the upcoming series against Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler’s constant drives to the rim, so he better keeps that same intensity going when they host the Miami Heat.
As for the Cavs, they’ll have some soul-searching and tape-reviewing to do after allowing a single guy manhandle their entire frontcourt for five games straight.
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