At least publicly, Mitchell Robinson doesn’t hold a grudge against Joel Embiid.
When the Knicks and 76ers met in the finals two years ago, Embiid’s highlight reel, where he caught Robinson’s left leg in mid-air, ended Robinson’s season.
His teammate at the time, Donte DiVincenzo, called it a dirty play.
Asked about it on Sunday, Robinson took the high road.
“I don’t want to [think he’s a dirty player]. I don’t live in the past,” he said, as the Knicks prepare to host the 76ers in Game 1 of their second-round series. I just move on.”
Robinson is focused on reducing the superstar center and helping the Knicks return to the Eastern Conference finals.
He will have a big role, not just to protect Embiid, but as one of the key pieces to the Knicks defense as a whole.
In the opening round series against the Hawks, the 7-footer was excellent, averaging 6.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and a block in 14 minutes per game.
The Knicks outscored the Hawks by 20.5 points per 100 possessions with Robinson on the floor.
Embiid is coming off a strong streak himself, averaging 28 points and nine rebounds after missing the first three games of the playoffs following emergency appendicitis surgery late in the regular season.
“He’s a great player, and it’s fun to play against him,” Robinson said.
Asked the key to protecting Embiid, Robinson said: “Watch for mistakes.”
In Game 6, the Knicks destroyed the Hawks, winning with a playoff record 51 points.
Robinson was not present at the on-court celebration.
He was ejected in the second quarter after a scuffle with Hawks guard Dyson Daniels.
“Two grown men playing competitive basketball, that’s the type of game,” Robinson said.
He was also fined $50,000, in part for posting on social media where he mocked Daniels for rewriting a reel of a singing AI that included graphic words.
He got a call from the division office about it.
“To be honest, I forgot,” Robinson said when asked about the nature of the conversation. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
Most importantly, Robinson was not suspended and will be available for Game 1 against Embiid and the 76ers.
The Knicks will need him.
“He can be great. Mitch is different, so it doesn’t matter who we play, Mitch is very important to what we’re trying to do, the way he attacks, the way he’s dangerous in the pick-and-roll game, the way he protects the rim, the way he guards different things,” said coach Mike Brown. “All those things are very important to us in this series. We need him to deliver at a high level, and everyone else.”
