Mike Brown on Mitchell Robinson’s Free Throws

ORLANDO, Fla. — Coach Mike Brown thinks that Mitchell Robinson will, at some point, sink a foul shot. But until that becomes a reality—and maybe even beyond—it seems Robinson won’t be seeing much action in tight matchups.

“He’s got to hit free throws, obviously. We’ve got our rotation, and typically he’s in there during crunch time, with Josh [Hart] coming out there at power forward,” Brown mentioned. “He might not play a lot, but if we’re in need of rebounds, he could step in.”

“And he needs to make those free throws. He’s putting in the effort, and we’re helping him work through it. I really believe he will improve.”

Right now, it’s a small sample size—just nine attempts—but Robinson’s free throw percentage stands at a lowly 22.6% this season.

The previous playoffs were disheartening for Robinson, as an intentional foul by an opposing coach exposed his main weakness. This year, he tried to adjust his shooting routine, opting for one dribble instead of three, but, oddly, his numbers have dropped.

In a recent nail-biter against the Mavericks, Robinson came off the bench with just 22 seconds left in a defensive scenario. He snagged a rebound, was fouled right away, and surprisingly, made both free throws.

Lucky for the Knicks, missed free throws by Landry Shamet and Jalen Brunson in the closing minutes didn’t spell disaster, as the Mavericks failed to take advantage.

“Before our last game, we were likely among the top five teams in free throw percentage,” Brown noted. “Just one of those nights, I guess.”

Despite a solid start to the season, Mikal Bridges has seen a steep drop in both productivity and efficiency during the fourth quarter. He hinted that perhaps his opportunities have dwindled.

“It was just a situation that came up,” Bridges reflected. “It’s usually like that—whether the ball finds me or not. If you watch closely, it might not happen. I think it’s about being aggressive and figuring things out. Sometimes the game just unfolds that way.”

To illustrate the variation in Bridges’ performance, here’s a look at how he’s fared by quarter this season:

• 1st quarter: 9.3 minutes, 4.4 points, shooting percentage 55%, three-point percentage 42.1%
• 2nd quarter: 8.8 minutes, 4.9 points, shooting percentage 59.2%, three-point percentage 50%
• 3rd quarter: 9.4 minutes, 4.2 points, shooting percentage 47.8%, three-point percentage 39.3%
• 4th quarter: 8.2 minutes, 2.8 points, shooting percentage 36%, three-point percentage 33.3%