The Knicks are finding important leadership voices beyond their main stars.
Fans mostly see one side of Mitchell Robinson: a silly, goofy personality who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Recently, however, Robinson has been one of the most vocal players calling out a few worrying Knicks trends and emphasizing the need to fix them ahead of the postseason.
“The guys are starting to trust me a lot more,” Robinson said after practice Saturday. “They’re putting trust in me, so I’m telling them what I see and things that I think we can get better at. Being more vocal, it’s coming naturally. The guys mentioned a few times, I’m the anchor of the defense. They trust me on the defensive end. That helps a lot.”
After the Knicks barely escaped with a one-point win over the tanking Nets last week, Robinson said, “Our approach got to be better. We can’t just look at their record and say, ‘we’ll whoop their ass.’ We just got to be better altogether. Until we figure that part out, then it’s going to be a long roller coaster.”
After the Knicks lost to the Hornets on Thursday, Robinson commented on an Instagram video of himself, saying, “don’t even matter unless we change our approach we ain’t doing s–t special keep that bulls–t up myself included [sic].”
The video showed Robinson mentoring second-year center Ariel Hukporti, giving him advice on how to tailor his rebounding strategy based on who was taking a shot.
It’s part of personal growth for Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick. During his first few years in the league, he was not nearly as comfortable with the media. Now, he’s consistently letting his thoughts — and concerns — be heard.
Two things he’s repeatedly harped on are the Knicks’ approach and connectivity.
“We’re gonna do some talking and get better connected and stuff like that,” Robinson said. “That’s basically what we have to do, at this point right now.
“In the playoffs, you’re playing the same team, potentially, seven times. The more we’re connected, the better off we’ll be. You’ve seen what we did last year, and we’re trying to go farther.”
There is value in having veterans beyond Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns provide different voices and perspectives in the locker room. Robinson is not the only one.
Coach Mike Brown identified Jordan Clarkson, who has been playing himself back into the rotation lately, as another important leader.
“You can have leadership in a lot of different ways,” Brown said Saturday. “As of late, the reality of it is, a guy like Jordan Clarkson is starting to separate himself and showing that he’s one of the leaders of the team. Just because you start, just because you score a ton or shoot a ton, or you’re one of the best defenders, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a leader. Because one of the things is, leaders aren’t afraid to tell the truth. They do what they say. Being a leader means you gotta be on point all the time. You can’t be worried about whether your teammate likes you at the time because you’re saying something that’s truthful or you’re holding people accountable or not.
“So when you look at a guy like Jordan, who’s been through a lot, who’s still stayed ready, even when he was out, for him and listening to him speak up in front of the group now, that’s starting to show real leadership. Other guys have spoken up, other guys are trying to do it, and Mitch is one of them.”
Brunson is the formally recognized captain. Hart is the biggest talker. Towns, given his stature, is expected to be influential with his voice.
But Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are not particularly vocal. This leaves a bit of a void behind the aforementioned trio — one that Robinson and Clarkson can fill.
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