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NBA Playoffs: Top five players without a playoff appearance

By Larry Hammonds

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 30: Head Coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns holds the Western Conference Championship trophy as his team looks on after the Suns defeated the LA Clippers in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on June 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 30: Head Coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns holds the Western Conference Championship trophy as his team looks on after the Suns defeated the LA Clippers in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on June 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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New York Knicks
NBA playoffs Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images /

Top five players without NBA playoffs experience: 5. Mitchell Robinson

It’s fairly easy to be sympathetic toward Mitchell Robinson. He’s dealt with a myriad of injuries this year and would’ve made his first playoff appearance had it not been for his streak of bad luck. The New York Knicks were an awful team for his first two seasons in the league, but Robinson continued to grow and develop as a player through all the turmoil within the franchise. He’s always been an efficient scorer, but by his second season, he not only led the league in field goal percentage, but his 74.2 field goal percentage broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 47-year old record of 72.7 percent.

This season Robinson improved at defending and contesting shots without fouling, which led to an increased role on the team. He received a bump in minutes, playing a career-high 27.5 minutes per game, and he also made a career-high 29 starts despite being limited to just 31 games. According to Synergy Sports, he’s a terrific rim runner and excellent in pick-and-roll sets, averaging 1.333 points per possession (PPP) and 1.373 PPP, respectively. Though he’s a nice asset to have at your disposal on offense, his impact comes mostly from the defensive side and crashing the boards.

While the Knicks made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, they were eliminated in five games by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Robinson is one of the league’s elite shot blockers and rim protectors, and his defense was sorely missed. His ability to play the passing lanes, switch onto guards and defend on the perimeter, as well as stymie opponents’ while playing in drop coverage, can change the outcome of a series. He can even use his supreme athleticism and 7’4” wingspan to take away the floater from the mid-range that Trae Young loves to weaponize against drop coverage.

To my knowledge, Elon Musk hasn’t figured out how to travel through time yet, so it’s not likely we will ever know if the Knicks would have beaten the Hawks had Robinson been healthy, but his impact certainly would have been felt. This writer is very much looking forward to the day the world gets to see Mitchell Robinson catching alley-oops and blocking shots into the stands in the playoffs, sending the sold-out crowd in Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.