Mitchell Robinson Airs Knicks Frustrations Amid Losing Streak

The New York Knicks have lost eight of their 10 games, continuing to descend as one of the worst defensive units in the NBA. Since the start of 2026, they rank 27th in WIN%, 27th in net rating, 23rd in offensive rating and a horrid 29th in defensive rating, while routinely giving up over 120 points to sub-.500 teams. One Knicks player, Mitchell Robinson, has apparently chosen to vent out his frustrations via social media. On Sunday night, the shot-blocking big man made a series of posts that hint at his issues with head coach Mike Brown, which include not being on the floor in the crunch time of games when the Knicks have struggled to get stops. When asked to get Karl-Anthony Towns “back on track,” Robinson said his job is just to “defend and rebound” and the Knicks won’t allow him to do anything else. Mitchell Robinson Frustrated Robinson also wrote the following in a series of Facebook posts venting his issues: “Who can I call to vent to?” “Farewell [heart emoji]” “Stop trying to tell me “I love you” when I been fighting battles all by myself trying to make everyone else happy…” When another fan noted that the mediocre Knicks defense needed Robinson at the end of games, Robinson said, “They won’t let me,” which was likely a shot at his coach. One can’t necessarily blame Brown for not playing Robinson in crunch time, as he’s shooting a career-low 38% from the foul line and routinely gets hacked by opponents. Knicks Defense Beyond Repair? However, it also can’t be denied that Towns is a horrendous rim protector who struggles when switched onto perimeter players. To that end, the Knicks rank 27th in the league in opponent pick-and-roll FG%, allowing 6.2 baskets per game when a ball-handler gets the first switch and manages to get to the rim. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins summed up Towns’ defensive issues during a recent episode of the “Road Trippin'” podcast, explaining why the Knicks would struggle to get past the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs due to Towns’ inability to play a tough brand of ball. “Karl-Anthony Towns is the most important piece on the New York Knicks for sure,” Perkins stressed, via BasketballNetwork. “He’s not their best player, but he’s the most important thing if they’re trying to get to the NBA Finals.” “He’s [Towns] got to strap his shoes up and play like a grown a– man, because in a perfect world, which I think would happen, the Knicks, Detroit meet up in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hey bro, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, they ain’t playin’ no games. And Karl-Anthony Towns, you got to be able to go to war, dog.” The Knicks faced similar defensive issues last year when the Indiana Pacers exposed Towns and Jalen Brunson’s shortcomings by scoring over 125 points three times in the six-game Eastern Conference Finals series. The defensive issues became so pronounced that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was forced to insert Mitchel Robinson into the starting unit in place of Josh Hart midway through the series. Brown started the season with a two-big starting unit of Towns and Robinson, but changed course after the first month to bring back Hart. If the defensive issues persist, he could be forced to make a change again.