The New York Knicks are just hours away from starting Game 3 of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday evening on the road. The Knicks are hoping to recover after collapsing in the fourth quarter of Game 2, enabling the Hawks to grab a road victory and tie the series.
One technique the Hawks employed in the first game of the series was to purposely foul Mitchell Robinson when New York was in the bonus, forcing one of the league’s worst free throw shooters to the line.
Recently, Robinson explained why he considers Hawks head coach Quin Snyder’s deployment of the approach as a compliment.
“It means they want me off the floor. They see me as a danger, therefore,” Robinson told The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III on X, previously Twitter.
In Game 1, Robinson shot 1-4 from the free throw line, as the Hawks purposefully fouled him, and in Game 2, Mike Brown ensured that the giant man was kept off the floor entirely when Atlanta had the opportunity to use the same approach.
When he was on the floor and not on the free throw line, Robinson tormented the Atlanta defense, as many expected he would against the Hawks’ undersized and wounded frontcourt, repeatedly finding his way to offensive rebounds and finishing lobs around the basket.
However, his low percentage from the charity stripe limits how much influence Robinson can have on the court at any one moment.
In any case, the Hawks and Knicks are scheduled to begin Game 3 of their series on Thursday at 7:00 p. m. ET in Atlanta.
