TORONTO — Mitchell Robinson isn’t going to shoot his free throws underhanded. In his view, form isn’t the problem and granny style “is silly as hell.”
The issue, as Robinson laid out Tuesday, is the lack of outside shooting opportunities in practice, which negatively impacts his foul-shooting rhythm.
“I don’t get shots up like that (in practice). I just do a lot of lay-ups, hook shots, stuff like that,” Robinson, who is down to 39 percent from the charity stripe this season, said. “If you don’t get shots, you don’t know how it is. You’re not comfortable with it. So it’s just like — you got to get some shots up. I do it in the summertime, and I’m straight. And I just get away from it.”
Robinson pointed at the proof of his rookie season, when he shot a career-best 60 percent and apparently there was more of an emphasis on his outside shot. His free-throw efficiency has been declining ever since.
“Like I said before, when I was getting up shots, rookie year, I was 60 percent,” Robinson said. “So if I get shots up, everything will be alright. Until then, it is what it is.”
To be clear, Robinson isn’t talking about practicing free throws. He does that plenty. He also slightly altered his shooting form before this season, believing that dribbling once before the shot instead of three would help with the mental aspect.
But the foul shots still aren’t falling — and Robinson believes it’s related to his offensive responsibilities being limited to rebounding, setting screens or putbacks.
The 27-year-old hasn’t taken a field goal outside of the paint since the 2022-23 season. Almost all his attempts are inside the restricted area. His workouts with the Knicks are geared toward that style, which isn’t the case when Robinson is training in the summer.
“If you’re not shooting shots — even if you’re not going to shoot them in the game, it’s still good to have that muscle memory like that,” Robinson said. “And also confidence (comes) with it, too. It goes hand in hand.”
Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Raptors, Robinson owned the lowest free-throw percentage, by far, among players with at least 80 attempts. Rudy Gobert was next at 50.2 percent. Robinson also spoke out in a recent Facebook post.
“If you ain’t comfortable with your shot you know what the result is gonna be,” Robinson posted recently. “When I’m not in New York in my offseason I get up shots not just layups all day. I make 10 in a row sometimes even 20 in a row but that’s after I get done running and shooting. It’s a big difference than just doing layups and also let’s face the fact usually it takes maybe 11-16 (times up and down the court) before I touch the ball. I’m not complaining about it. I expected it for what it is.”
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The foul shooting became a hot-button topic in last year’s playoffs, when the Celtics and Pistons began hacking Robinson on purpose with regularity. Robinson becomes a liability if he’s not hitting his foul shots, especially in a playoff setting, so it could also limit his minutes.
Last year, as Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was deploying Hack-a-Mitch in the conference semis, Rick Barry, the Godfather of granny free throws, offered to teach Robinson his forgotten technique.
It’s not going to happen.
“Nah,” Robinson said when asked if he’s ever tried underhand free throws. “I feel like that’s silly as hell.”
Other than his foul-shooting woes, Robinson has been a success story this season. He’s again leading the East in offensive rebounds per game despite averaging just 19.4 minutes. That presence under the glass has changed results into victories for the Knicks, like Robinson’s strong performance Sunday over the Spurs.
“That’s like my job. That’s my job on this team. Bring energy off the bench,” Robinson said. “That’s what I try to do every night when I play. So continue to do that.”
He’s also remained healthy for the first time in three years while adhering to a load management program. Robinson doesn’t play back-to-backs, which is why the center isn’t expected to play Wednesday’s home game against the mighty Thunder after Tuesday’s contest in Toronto.
Coach Mike Brown determines which of the two back-to-back games Robinson will play.
“It wasn’t my choice,” Robinson said. “I let coaches decide which game they want me to play.”
Of course, there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs. And Robinson will undoubtedly be sent to the foul line — where he feels failure is more likely without a shooting rhythm.
