2018 NBA Draft: 3 reasons Los Angeles Lakers must be wary of Mitchell Robinson

3. An underdeveloped offensive attack

We’ve heard it already — Robinson wows with his elite athleticism for a 7’1″, 230-pound center. Haven’t seen any examples of this yet since he never played a single minute at the college level? Well, let this video from Draft Express enlighten you.

Okay, so now that we’re on the same page, let’s address the first reason the Lakers should be wary of drafting Robinson. While he’s an awesome athlete, outstanding rebounder and high-flying dunker, his overall offensive game is still at, well, a high school level.

Even in high school, Robinson only connected on 27 percent of his 3-point shots. Some pitch him as a big man with range, but we must also consider that he’ll be shooting over much taller, more talented defenders in the NBA. It’s not going to be anywhere near as easy as shooting over high schoolers, who Robinson typically towered over.

The video shows some solid handles for a seven-footer, which is promising. However, we haven’t had a chance to see those handles used against an NBA-caliber defender. Most of the film I’ve seen of him in high school showed him catching lobs over kids who he had at least a foot on, throwing down dunks off of rebounds or cashing in on easy breakaway slams.

The jumper isn’t there yet. To succeed in today’s NBA, he’s going to need to find it.

At this moment, Robinson is a finisher, rebounder and shot-blocker. Beyond that, he’s essentially an unknown, especially after pulling out of the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. I’d like to think his offensive game has progressed in the last year, but there’s no way to confirm that.

I guess we’ll just have to wait until his rookie year begins and see what he looks like then.