On Wednesday morning, the Boston Celtics signed New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson to a three-year, $47.4 million contract seemingly out of the blue. There were no major reports linking Boston to the 2026 NBA champion, yet the Celtics still managed to swipe the 7-footer away from their hated rivals in free agency. The connection between Robinson and the C's isn't as expected as one might think though, especially given recent comments from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
In May of 2025, the Celtics and Knicks squared off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After the Knicks took a surprising 2-0 lead, Mazzulla didn't emphasize the importance of Knicks star Jalen Brunson or the timely shooting of forward Josh Hart. Instead, he fielded a question about Robinson — New York's backup center — and explained his impact on the series.
"He's good on both ends of the floor," Mazzulla praised following Game 2. "He's able to play by himself. He's able to play double-big with (Karl-Anthony) Towns. Then on the defensive end, his ability to protect the rim, his ability to get extra possessions...He's a huge factor to what they do and we've got to find ways to negate that."
Mazzulla and the Celtics feared Robinson's influence so much that they intentionally fouled him throughout the series to put a bad free-throw shooter on the line and, more importantly, force the Knicks to take him out of the game.
The results of that strategy varied, but the Knicks beat the Celtics in six games and won it all the following season by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
In May of 2025, the Celtics and Knicks squared off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After the Knicks took a surprising 2-0 lead, Mazzulla didn't emphasize the importance of Knicks star Jalen Brunson or the timely shooting of forward Josh Hart. Instead, he fielded a question about Robinson — New York's backup center — and explained his impact on the series.
"He's good on both ends of the floor," Mazzulla praised following Game 2. "He's able to play by himself. He's able to play double-big with (Karl-Anthony) Towns. Then on the defensive end, his ability to protect the rim, his ability to get extra possessions...He's a huge factor to what they do and we've got to find ways to negate that."
Mazzulla and the Celtics feared Robinson's influence so much that they intentionally fouled him throughout the series to put a bad free-throw shooter on the line and, more importantly, force the Knicks to take him out of the game.
The results of that strategy varied, but the Knicks beat the Celtics in six games and won it all the following season by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
2 months ago
