Mitchell Robinson is his harshest critic. He was so upset with his performance in the Boston Celtics' season opener that he didn't respond to a final text from Joe Mazzulla that night.
"I just felt like I was playing like trash the whole time," said Robinson Thursday at the Auerbach Center. "I'm one of the best defensive bigs in the league, and I didn't show it that night."
The seven-foot center finished Tuesday's 121-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons with four points, three rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal. His impact goes beyond traditional counting stats, but it was jarring to see him leave Little Caesars Arena with only two defensive rebounds.
Fixing the glass: The Celtics need more from Mitchell Robinson
Boston gave up six offensive rebounds with the eight-year veteran on the floor. Detroit parlayed that into 12 second-chance points. There was also one that didn't make its way onto the stat sheet. Robinson couldn't corral a Cade Cunningham miss while trying to fend off Jalen Duren. John Collins got a layup on the ensuing baseline inbounds.
The former New York Knicks center has been the NBA's best rebounder since he entered the league. That's what made his performance on the boards so surprising. At times, a player whose IQ is his most underrated trait was a step slow to react, or he wasn't physical enough with Duren.
There were instances like when he boxed out the 2025-26 All-NBA Third Team selection, but he didn't drive Duren back [easier said than done]. The result was an offensive rebound by the latter on a shot that missed long and went over Robinson's head. Isaiah Joe converted that second-chance opportunity into a bucket from beyond the arc.
There were also examples of him getting detached from Duren. For instance, he came out to contest a mid-range jumper by Joe. Robinson blocked the shot, but the Pistons' starting center grabbed the ball and dunked it.
The Celtics also need more impact on the offensive glass from the player tied with Dennis Rodman for the second-highest career offensive rebounding rate among those with at least 5,000 career minutes.
The Celtics need a more physical version of Mitchell Robinson
The 28-year-old from Pensacola, Florida, plays a punishing brand of basketball. Too often, that wasn't the case on Tuesday.
There weren't enough examples of punishing screens. There was a desire to see his picks disrupt Detroit defenders more often. They weren't creating much separation for the player he was screening for.
Along with wanting to see him play with more physicality, Boston's starting center looked like he needed to get his wind in his first shift. Robinson got whistled for an illegal screen on the opening possession. Then, he couldn't convert on a lob from Derrick White for an alley-oop.
Shortly after that, he was the nail defender as Cunningham came off a pin down from Duren. With Robinson keeping the Pistons' star guard out of the paint, and White needing to stay attached to Duncan Robinson in the corner, Duren got behind him for a dunk. It's tough to contain both, but he's an excellent pick-and-roll defender and capable of doing it.
Robinson finished with two screen assists and five points produced from those.
What about the positives from Mitchell Robinson's Celtics debut?
While Boston needs him to play with more physicality, have a greater impact on the glass at both ends of the floor, and operate a beat faster on defense, his performance wasn't all bad.
He stonewalled and stuffed a mid-range jumper by Duren. He swallowed up a drive by Cunningham in the third quarter. At the other end, his rim roll drew two defenders. That got Derrick White an open 3. It was a great illustration of his gravity.
It was also easy to recognize how much his new teammates will appreciate having him as a lob threat. That included an alley-oop from White out of 77 action, meaning two on-ball screens.
From protecting the rim to being a vertical spacer, wreaking havoc on the glass, containing the pick-and-roll, and his deflections leading to transition points, what he does well was on display. But the Celtics didn't sign him for glimpses. These need to be staples of his stints. They usually are. That makes this of minimal concern. If anything, his eagerness to atone speaks to how much he cares. It signals that he could bounce back in a major way on Friday against his former team.
"He's a very important piece to what we do, and so the standard is a little bit higher, and the expectation is a little bit higher. So, I think it just comes with time, understanding that every play, you're at the nucleus of what we're trying to accomplish on both ends of the floor," said Joe Mazzulla on Thursday. "Appreciate that he's in that space, and I think he's taking on the responsibility and knowing how important that he is for us."
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