It hasn't taken long for the Mitchell Robinson discourse to get bad. The Boston Celtics' prized free-agent addition hasn't lived up to his billing, though; in all fairness, he said on Media Day that it would take time for him to acclimate to the team.
Well, Robinson hasn't necessarily turned the corner in recent days, but he is showing, in baby steps, that he is starting to get Mazzulla Ball down. First, the Celtics have trotted out Robinson with one of their other bigs: either Neemias Queta or Luka Garza. In all honesty, Robinson appears to play better with Garza because there is less redundancy between them than between him and Queta.
In the Celtics' thrashing of the Hornets, Robinson didn't really participate in the dominance per se, but he at least did his job. He fought for offensive rebounds (three on the night), finished lobs, and blocked a shot. There was some energy from him, which is a refreshing change from earlier in the season.
Part of the process has been Boston trying to figure out where he fits. It was pretty quickly obvious that he is best served off the bench. Since that transition, he has shown chemistry with Garza and Baylor Scheierman.
It's not great, but better than before. Finishing with a plus/minus of plus-6 in a game Boston won by 39 would make one grimace to some degree, but it's better to have a positive plus/minus in a 39-point victory than a negative one in a game won by 25.
Is it a flash in the pan or the start of something better?
That is the question. Robinson's start to the season has been quite concerning. Not concerningly average. Concerningly bad. He looks like he has been lumbering up and down the court, and it's been frustrating to watch because Queta and Garza have looked astronomically better than him.
But the reason why the Celtics should be willing to work through it is that they're not losing much of their games. Has the schedule been easy at times to start? Yes, it has, but 7-2 is par for the course for this team.
If Robinson continues to build on this, it will be a key development for him because it will show that he is improving and understands what the Celtics want him to do. It's what Boston wants to see, even if their obvious preference was for him to hit the ground running.
However, it's only one game. A stretch would go a long way in reversing the narrative about Robinson as a Celtic because he definitely has a long way to go.
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