The Celtics Have a Mitchell Robinson Problem They Have to Address image
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The prospect of Mitchell Robinson in the Celtics' rotation next season is an exciting thought.
Robinson adds depth to Boston's roster, giving them a consistent rebounder and defender, among several other skills he possesses.
However, he has one major weakness that the Celtics are well aware of, and now Boston will have to find a way to help Robinson fix it.
The Celtics Have a Mitchell Robinson Problem They Have to Address
The Celtics and Joe Mazzulla have been known to use the 'hack-a-Shaq' method in recent seasons, and Mitchell Robinson was one of the frequent victims of this tactic when he was with the Knicks.
The Celtics would intentionally foul Robinson, knowing he was a bad free-throw shooter.
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Doing this meant they preferred, towards the end of quarters, the gamble of putting Robinson at the line for two shots, rather than risking letting up points in another way.
The method did work, but it slowed the pace of the game down dramatically, and could only really be done for so long before certain players accumulated too many fouls.
It's definitely a strategic move, but if Robinson continues to show he can't hit free throws at a respectable rate, teams will continue to employ the intentional foul tactic.
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The Celtics now may have to deal with the tactic that they've used the most in the past, and it could be problematic for them if Robinson doesn't improve his FT%.
Even with this tactic not being used intentionally, it's not good in general that he is a poor free-throw shooter, as missed free throws accumulating throughout a game will come back to hurt the Celtics.
Robinson shot a career-worst 40.8% at the free-throw line this past season. It wouldn't be fair to expect him to double that, but Boston will really need to work with him to get that percentage back up into at least the mid-to-high 60% range.
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