Knicks, Tom Thibodeau will help Mitchell Robinson expand his game next season

When New York enlisted Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks talked about his ability to take down a shot from the perimeter.

But he didn’t have the opportunity to shoot from the perimeter during matches in his first two seasons.

Four of Robinson’s 632 career field goal attempts have exceeded 10 feet.

It will be interesting to see if Tom Thibodeau and his staff have enabled Robinson to shoot from the perimeter in 2020-21. It seems Robinson is eager to get a chance to shoot from outside.

He worked in training and before matches last season on his outside shot. Prior to the year, he predicted he would fire more from the outside. But the coaching staff didn’t give Robinson the opportunity to shoot from the perimeter last year.

Will it be different under Thibodeau? We may start to find out at the end of this month. Thibodeau and his staff will begin working with the Knicks in the team’s training facility, starting September 14. Volunteer training gives Thibodeau the chance to see Robinson and the other Knicks in a formal setting for the first time. They should include scrimmages.

Something worth noting about training: Thibodeau and others with the Timberwolves at the time were in love with Dennis Smith Jr. who was just out of college, the sources say. Thibodeau and other members of the organization participated in Smith Jr.’s private pre-draft training.

Obviously that draft dates back more than three years ago. So Thibodeau’s impression of Smith Jr. before the draft doesn’t necessarily indicate how the manager views the point guard now. But it will be interesting to see if Thibodeau and his staff, which includes top development coaches, can help Smith Jr. recover from an inconsistent 2019-20 campaign in New York.