Knicks, Thibs will keep circling Robinson-Noel redundancy

There’s redundancy with the Knicks two centers and Mitchell Robinson noticed it when his team signed Nerlens Noel.

“It was just like, ‘Oh well, I mean, now we’ve got like two players who do the same thing,” Robinson said. “Got to live with it, keep working.”

Despite the hype over Robinson and the expectation of a big leap in Year 3, the 22-year-old was again a reserve in the preseason opener Thursday. Noel, 26, started and was highly effective, scoring 10 points with eight boards on 5-of-7 shooting in 25 minutes.

Robinson had just two points and four fouls in 22 minutes, but also collected four steals and two blocks.

He denied that his pregame “No loyalty” Instagram post was about being benched.

“As long as I can go out there and help my teammates, I really don’t care if I start or not. It’s early, it is what it is,” Robinson said. “I’m not going to sit down and pout about it, I’m not going to make a problem or whatever. I just want to get out there and I want to play.”

Coach Tom Thibodeau is known for playing his starters heavy minutes and declared that the center battle is still up for grabs between Robinson and Noel. Stylistically, they can’t be played together and the Knicks have earmarked frontcourt minutes for Julius Randle and Obi Toppin. With the two centers, it’s a one-or-the-other scenario.

In his first two seasons, Robinson played behind Enes Kanter, DeAndre Jordan and Taj Gibson. He was labeled a good fit for the defensive-minded Thibodeau as a rim protector, but left voluntary minicamp in the summer and wasn’t in great shape when the regular training camp opened. Thibodeau referenced “discipline” and “professionalism” when emphasizing Robinson’s areas for growth.

By the time Noel was named the starter for preseason Game 1, it wasn’t a surprise.