Knicks' second-rounder C Mitchell Robinson certainly made his case for the Opening Day roster after his successful summer league campaign.
In fact, his trainer -- Marcell Scott -- thinks his showcased abilities in Las Vegas eliminated any chance of Robinson having to grow his skills in the G-League this season.
"I knew once they saw Mitchell on the court and saw all the stuff he brings to the table, the G-League would be eliminated from the conversation,'' Scott told The Post's Marc Berman. "I honestly think at the halfway mark, at the All-Star break, Mitch will be starting.''
Scott has been constructing workouts for Robinson for parts of the last four years, and leading up to the Draft, he was working him hard to get prepared for the NBA. Robinson's natural athleticism shined in these training sessions. Scott knew he had a bright NBA future when he saw the 7-foot-1 big man hitting shots over NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, who had volunteered to work out with Robinson before the draft.
With the hard work put in the gym complete, Scott's only question about Robinson was how would it translate to an actual game. He hadn't seen him play a real one since high school.
"The last game was the [2017] McDonald's All-American Game and I don't call that a game,'' Scott said. "It's a whole bunch of running up and down. So last time I saw him in a game was high school when everyone was 6-4 and under. I knew he was ready because he worked on a lot of stuff with Davis guarding him, but I wasn't sure. I thought he wouldn't get adjusted until the third game with the pace."
Scott was wrong. Robinson kept up with the rest of the rookies and second-year players from the start, and he quickly started to stuff his stat sheet.
The 20-year-old ended up averaging a double-double with 13 points and 10.2 rebounds over his summer league games. Even more impressive was his four blocks per game average -- a summer league record.
1️⃣4️⃣ pts, 1️⃣2️⃣ rebs, and 5️⃣ blks to close out Summer League. @23savage____ left it all on the line. #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/GmKqT8N0kq
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) July 14, 2018
"I was totally surprised he got adjusted," Scott said. "The only thing we did was get up and down the track with sprints to have some endurance. But in a game, when you have someone physically pushing you the whole time? He said he was tired the first game but he did a good job catching up to the pace."
Scott and Robinson have been working out in Louisiana since summer league ended, and G-league coach Mike Miller made his way down south to see exactly what the two were working on. He left surprised at what other skills Robinson possessed other than putback dunks and alley oop finishes.
"I said 'what do you want us to do' and he said 'you're covering everything we do,' " Scott said about his encounter with Miller. "A lot of perimeter shots, jab steps. He was shooting 3s. He said he didn't know he had that. In Vegas, you saw him on double picks and slashing to the hoop but he has a lot more to offer. You're going to be shocked. He's not a dunker all the time."
The transition to an NBA-ready player hasn't been all fun and games, though. Scott admits Robinson's first training sessions with Davis wasn't the best, and the NBA veteran didn't see Robinson as a prospect at all.
"I'll tell you one thing -- [Davis] didn't think he was an NBA prospect at first," Scott said. "Until he got on the court and saw he moves really good, was quick off the ground, [then] he understood Mitch was special."
Robinson showed everyone that he has the ability to be special in the NBA if he can emulate his summer league success during the regular season. Whether he will be on the bench in the NBA or G-League to start the season is still to be seen, but Scott has already seen a personality change in Robinson after what he was able to prove in his first game time in over a year.
That change shows Scott that he's ready to make an immediate impact at the NBA level.
"I've noticed a difference since summer league - he's more confident now,'' Scott said. "More eye contact when he talks, articulating a lot better. He's really understanding what it means to be a pro now.''