Celtics ask Mitchell Robinson to add off-ball screens and broader offensive reads

Joe Mazzulla wants Mitchell Robinson doing more than setting a pick and rolling to the rim. In John Karalis’ October 12 Celtics On SI analysis, Boston’s coach described an adjustment toward reading the whole floor, setting off-ball screens and helping the offense move from one action to the next.

“Here, we’re asking to be a little bit more dynamic as far as reading and off-ball and playing through,” Mazzulla said after Saturday’s preseason win over Philadelphia, according to Karalis. He presented it as work on habits within a different system, rather than criticism of Robinson’s effort.

Choosing the next action

Before Monday’s practice, Mazzulla explained that each possession gives a center information about the next useful action. It might call for a rim run, a pick-and-roll or a screen away from the ball to help a teammate get open.

Karalis used Neemias Queta’s possessions against the Sixers to illustrate that idea: when an initial screen does not produce an opening, the center can reset, screen again or become a passing outlet. Those sequences are the reporter’s examples of the decisions Boston wants its centers making.

Adding responsibilities, not abandoning strengths

The analysis does not argue that Robinson should stop rolling or pursuing offensive rebounds. It separates those existing strengths from the additional reads Mazzulla is asking him to develop.

“It’s just a different system,” Mazzulla said in the report. He praised Robinson’s basketball IQ and expressed interest in how he would adapt. These are preseason teaching points, not an announced change to Boston’s starting lineup or a guarantee of a finished offensive fit.

Our Celtics-Sixers recap covers the game behind the discussion.