Out with backstiffness. Is anyone surprised?
Speaking of which.
Can Mitchell Robinson stay healthy?
He and Obi both play with such reckless abandon. But unlike with Obi, there's something about how Mitchell moves, how he leaps and lurches and slams to the ground, that just has you holding your breath. It's as if he's not in control of his body, and his chances of getting really, really hurt seem almost inevitable.
I take no pleasure in making that observation. I really like the guy and I hope I'm wrong. Maybe that kind of physical control I'm talking about can be learned. But you see so many guys in the NBA with a breathtaking balance of power and agility. Robinson sticks out in the other direction.
Big men often have to grow into their bodies.
Mitchell seems much more centered, so to speak, much more in control, than when he started out.
Likewise his work habits and conditioning, vis a vis, Thibs raising the bar for him.
I too wince every time he goes down.
Still, our own Bill Cartwright went down twice with the same foot injury, and sat crying on the bench with "Knick Fans" booing him the second time, something which still rankles me.
Mitchell has already gone down a couple of times so far, scaring the shit out of me, and he made a point of getting some treatment and coming back in the game.
Right now I am more concerned about Nerlens, who seems to have lingering congenital knee problems. He played through them all last season, so I am sure we will see him soon, but I suspect Thibs will be judicious about his usage...well, as Judicious as Thibs is about ANYONE'S USEAGE [see Kemba, Derrick, Julius].
I've been quite moved by Mitchell's intensity and sense of purpose. He did a lot of things last night that don't show up in a box score.
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