Robinson posted 5.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in 19.6 minutes last season on a 72.3 percent clip, the quietest box score among Boston's regulars. He is questionable for tonight's preseason game against Philadelphia, with Neemias Queta also out for rest, leaving the center rotation thin before the opener.
His box score has always undersold his value.
Robinson's 5.7 points and 0.9 assists last season sit inside a 10.2 percent usage rate, the lowest workload among Boston's rotation regulars. The efficiency inside that workload was elite: a 72.3 field-goal percentage and a 67.6 true-shooting mark, built entirely at the rim. He did not attempt a single three.
Rebounding and rim protection are the real job description.
Robinson grabbed 8.8 rebounds in only 19.6 minutes, a 21.4 percent rebound rate, and added 1.2 blocks a night. Boston's defensive rating with him on the floor was 109.9, and the plus-7.8 net swing says his impact shows up on the end of the floor the box score does not track.
The free-throw line is where that efficiency leaks out.
A 40.8 percent mark from the stripe gives opponents a lever late in games, and it is the one number in his profile that does not match the rest of it. It is also the plainest explanation for why his minutes shrink in close fourth quarters, rebounding notwithstanding.
Health, not role, is this week's open question.
Robinson is questionable for tonight's preseason game against Philadelphia, cause unspecified, with Neemias Queta held out for rest the same night. At $15.0 million this season, climbing to $16.5 million by 2028-29, Robinson is paid to repeat last season exactly: low usage, heavy rebounding, rim protection, and enough nights on the floor to matter. That last part is the one still unproven.
What is Mitchell Robinson's role on the Celtics this season?
He is a low-usage center who rebounds and protects the rim rather than scores — last season he used only 10.2 percent of possessions while shooting 72.3 percent from the field.
Is Mitchell Robinson playing against the 76ers on October 10?
He is listed questionable with an unspecified issue heading into that preseason game, the same night Neemias Queta is sitting out for rest.
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