Mitch and moan
Robinson riles up Wizards’ Morris
WASHINGTON — Welcome to the NBA, Mitchell Robinson. You’ve already managed to get under Markieff Morris’ skin.
The Knicks rookie’s debut included a couple highlight alleyoop jams and a heated exchange with Wizards grumpy veteran Morris, who was ejected following two technical fouls because he couldn’t get over something Robinson called him.
“This stupid ass rookie was talking too much. And obviously, I didn’t like what he said,” Morris complained Monday after the Knicks beat the Wizards in overtime of their preseason opener, 124-121.
Morris, 29, wouldn’t reveal what Robinson said to rile him up. After they jostled during foul shots, Morris first got in the face of Robinson and they were hit with double technicals. Morris then continued to jaw at Robinson and was ejected in the second quarter.
“I’m supposed to be a bigger person, but what he said crossed the line as a man,” Morris said.
Robinson, 20, who was drafted by the Knicks in the second round, held up his arms and tried to disengage as Morris got in his face the second time. Robinson claimed he said nothing to Morris, but replays showed otherwise.
“He could have helped his team out tonight if he’d just be quiet. I didn’t say nothing to him,” said Robinson, who finished with six points and seven boards in 17 minutes. “If he would’ve just hushed and continued to play the game, but he wanted to keep going. He got out. We got the win, I kept playing.”
Fizdale was happy with the way his rookie from Louisiana handled the situation. He championed it as indicative of the team’s new personality.
“Yeah, that was awesome. You don’t instigate it but you don’t back down,” Fizdale said. “The kid’s tough. Don’t let his slim frame fool you. He’s not going to back away. The kid grew up in some tough surroundings. I’m sure he got in some scuffles down there in the Bayou. That’s who we are. That’s the Knicks DNA. We’re going to keep holding on to that. We may not necessarily totally instigate stuff but we’re definitely not shying away from stuff.”
STARTING THOMAS
Lance Thomas got the first crack at power forward.
Impressing yet another coach with his defensive tenacity and leadership, the longest tenured Knick started in Monday’s preseason opener against the Wizards and contributed to the overtime victory.
Thomas beat out Mario Hezonja, the Knicks’ big freeagent signing over the summer. Fizdale was happy with the starting lineup’s performance – including Thomas’ 12-point, 4for-5 shooting effort — but warned the configuration might not be permanent.
“This is not set in stone by any means. This is just to get us going,” Fizdale said. “I just have really enjoyed the way Lance has led, the way he has held guys to a higher standard of practice habits. Details in practice. I’m thinking it will be a good way to start off with guys that already played here in a different system to see how they look in my system. So it’s a good observation for me to see some of the older guys play together around Kevin (Knox). So there’s a lot of factors we looked at in deciding.”
The rest of the lineup was predictable based on indications from camp: Trey Burke at point guard; Tim Hardaway Jr. at shooting guard; Knox at small forward; Enes Kanter at center.
Knox was aggressive and solid in his debut against NBA competition, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.