Mitchell Robinson swats two shots as starter

White, George and Tatum were all locks for the starting lineup, but the remaining two spots were up for grabs. Walsh will slot into the final wing spot, and Robinson will replace Neemias Queta as the starting center. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla experimented with lineups throughout the 2025-26 campaign, and that may be the case in 2026-27.

After coming off the bench in his first preseason appearances as a Celtic, Robinson started on Wednesday. The 7-footer had an excellent night, not missing a shot from the field or the foul line while also blocking three shots. Neemias Queta (16 points, one rebound and one assist) still played more, logging 24 minutes to Robinson’s 17. At times, the two shared the court in a big lineup, with Queta sliding up to power forward. As long as he’s available, Robinson should get the minutes needed to provide late-round value, especially for managers punting free-throw percentage.

After spending the first eight seasons of his NBA career with the Knicks, Robinson moved north and signed with the Celtics in free agency. One question for the 7-footer is how much he’ll be able to play after ankle issues limited his minutes in each of his final three seasons with the Knicks. Robinson, likely to serve as Neemias Queta’s backup, expressed confidence that he’ll be able to play more after averaging 19.6 minutes per game last season. “Oh, definitely. I feel very confident in myself,” Robinson said. “I’ve been working on my body this whole summer. Figuring things out. And I’m very confident in myself right now.” If he can get his playing time into the mid-20s, that would make Robinson a viable option for fantasy managers, especially those willing to punt free-throw percentage. However, Queta’s presence does limit Robinson’s fantasy ceiling.

Drummond’s reported deal will be an important one for the Knicks as they look to fill the void at backup center. Drummond has played 14 seasons in the NBA, serving various roles. He’ll essentially replace Mitchell Robinson, who agreed to a deal with the Celtics, to help New York in its title defense. Drummond averaged 6.4 points and 8.4 rebounds last season with the 76ers.

Queta enjoyed a breakout season for Boston last year, averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. That was enough for him to earn a contract that will keep him around until for the remainder of the decade. The Celtics added Mitchell Robinson this summer, so Queta will likely split the minutes down low with him, though Queta should be the incumbent starter. He was a top-75 player in nine-category scoring last season in just 25.3 minutes per game, which is certainly a realistic role for him to play while splitting minutes with Robinson.

Robinson’s deal includes a player option in the third season. The 28-year-old center is coming off winning a championship with the Knicks as the organization’s longest-tenured player. Now Robinson will call Boston home for at least the next two season. The Celtics desperately needed help in the frontcourt and the addition of Robinson helps address that need. It’s no surprise the Knicks didn’t elect to sign Robinson given the team’s cap situation the organization’s desire to avoid the second apron. Robinson will go into the Celtic’s mid-level exception and Boston will be hard capped to the first apron.

Fresh off the franchise’s first NBA title in 53 years, the Knicks’ focus has turned to the roster makeup for 2026-27. While Dolan made it clear that he’s fine with writing a check to account for entering the luxury tax, that isn’t the case for the second apron. “If we could bring back the whole team, exactly as it is, why wouldn’t you? But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to, contractually,” Dolan said. “We’re willing to stretch, right. There’s certain things in the NBA that you’d have to be suicidal to do. One of them is called the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron. That’s up to Leon (Rose)...I’ll write as big of a check as possible, but I can’t write a check that goes into the second apron.” This is important because two rotation players, Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet, are among the Knicks who will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the month. And Jose Alvarado, who was critical in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, has a $4.5 million player option. The Knicks barely avoided the second apron this season; this task becomes even more challenging this summer.

Robinson returns to the injury report for Game 5 of the NBA Finals but he is available to play. The Knicks ' big man logged 13 minutes in Game 4 and grabbed five rebounds. Robinson will continue to have a similar role as New York looks to close out the series.

No surprise here as Robinson was initially listed as probable for Game 2. The 28-year-old center had surgery on his broken pinky finger before the NBA Finals. Robinson will likely play between 10-20 minutes as the backup center.

Robinson is back on the injury report for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, but it’s safe to assume that he will play. The longest-tenured Knick logged 13 minutes in the series opener, grabbing six rebounds. Look for Robinson to take on a similar role as New York attempts to take a 2-0 series lead.