Mitchell Robinson is off to troubling start for Celtics after bolting Knicks for $47 million deal
The grass hasn’t been greener for Mitchell Robinson, even if his jersey is.The former Knicks center is off to an inauspicious start with the rival Celtics after bolting in the offseason for a three-year, $47.4 million pact.Robinson is averaging 6.2 points but just 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game through six contests with a disastrous minus-42 rating when he’s on the court.There has been speculation that the 7-foot, 240-pound big man reported to training camp in underwhelming physical shape, according to The Boston Globe.“None of us have met the expectations, myself included,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said recently, per the outlet.“I have to be better, and it goes down the line.
I like where Mitch is at from a mentality standpoint.I like his approach and his work ethic into doing the things that we’re asking to do.“It’s obviously a little bit different, but none of us have met our own expectations, and we just have to keep working toward it.
As long as we keep that mindset, not be distracted by the result, we got a chance.He’s somebody that takes pride in that process of getting better, and I’ve enjoyed working with him.”The Knicks did not attempt to retain Robinson after he helped with the franchise’s first title in 53 years in June and the Celtics swooped in to add some needed size to their frontcourt.Six games is obviously an extremely small sample size, but there have been some worrisome signs.Robinson posted a minus-16 rating in Monday’s road loss to the Rockets and the Globe noted that he struggled on defense, “isn’t moving as well as expected” and not contributing on offense.His teammates reportedly are having “major trouble” finding him for alley-oops.Robinson’s points per game is actually slightly higher than his 2025-26 average, but his rebounds are notably down from 8.8 per game to 4.5 and his block have dipped from 1.2 to 0.7 per game.The Celtics have a net rating of minus-18.8 when he’s on the court compa...