Changes made by Knicks player Mitchell Robinson to solve free throw problems

Mitchell Robinson has changed his free throw routine and hopes — without evidence or sample size yet to draw conclusions — to correct his biggest flaw.

Instead of taking three dribbles at the goal line as happened during the last playoffs, Robinson would shoot the ball after a single bounce during the preseason.

He also adjusted his footwork after realizing that attempts were often wrong.

“I’ve been wandering around a little bit,” Robinson said. “Actually, that works for me. One dodge, then go straight to it.”

The change didn’t come to fruition through the first three preseason games or before Monday’s game against the Wizards, with Robinson continuing to launch line drives from the charity stripe while making just 2 of 6 attempts.

But it’s important that he feels comfortable with the routine, and Mike Brown, the new coach, has promoted consistency above all else.

“We have to have a game plan where it gets diagnosed to the point where it’s, ‘This is the message,’” Brown said. “One, two, maybe three things at most, but everyone on staff should know that.

“Everyone who was working with him at the time has to say the same message. We don’t want one of the coaches who are coaching him today to say, ‘Okay,’ – I’m making this up, I’m not saying that’s what he did – ‘pull your elbow in.’ And the next day another coach says, ‘Pull your elbow in a little bit.’ We can never give him mixed messages in those situations. We have to give him confidence and we have to find the right guy to make sure it works for him.” In this field while it iterates and does its job.

Robinson’s free throws were always an issue; But it became a code orange issue in last season’s playoffswhen coaches — most notably Boston’s Joe Mazzola — began intentionally fouling him.

The strategy kept Robinson off the field when Hack-A-Mitch was a viable option, and Boston may have won Game 3 of the second round at MSG.

During his 35-game playoff career, Robinson shot a paltry 39 percent from the foul line.

Results included Rick Barry, the godfather of novelty free throws, He told The Post that he could correct Robinson’s problem by teaching him the art of the trick shot.

Instead, Robinson has adjusted his routine and has a simple goal for the season.

He added: “Better than last year.”

In fact, Robinson had a career-high 68.4% on foul shots during the last regular season, but that was a small sample size (just 19 attempts) because he only played 17 games after an ankle injury.

The playoffs were the scary thing and now the issue is even more important given the increasing likelihood of Robinson starting in the frontcourt with Karl-Anthony Towns.

A bigger role for Robinson means more minutes and more free throw opportunities.

Even more troubling is that the 27-year-old has been getting steadily worse throughout his NBA career.

His efficiency started at 60% as a rookie, then dropped each season until a low of 40.9% in 2023-24.

Most of the time, bad throwers don’t improve significantly. But there are positive examples.

Andre Drummond, a 32-year-old center now with the Sixers, was well below 40 percent in his first five seasons.

Then it reached 60 percent and constantly hovered around that mark.

Karl Malone was only 48% as a rookie, then finished his career at nearly 75%.

DeAndre Jordan went from 38 percent seasons to 70 percent to 42 percent.

Maybe better conditioning will help with Robinson’s foul shooting. T

Sore legs tend to make it more difficult, and Robinson’s weight has dropped with the help of a farm-fresh diet (He owns a farm in Nashville) and downhill sprints (“I ran a lot of hills, a lot of hills in Tennessee,” he said).

Robinson understands the importance of hitting his foul shots, even in large numbers.

He said: “Yes.” “Those are bonus points.”