Pride is contagious. And so is defensive intensity.

Robinson is more physical than ever down low, but he’s also beating guys up without fouling. He’s strong enough to man the paint and quick enough to scurry to another defender in need of help. Various teammates note that he’s in better shape than ever. It’s translating to the other side of the floor, too, where he’s averaging more than six offensive rebounds a game. No player has pulled off that feat over a full season since former New Jersey Nets player Jayson Williams in 1997-98.

Defensive discipline has ratcheted to another level. Never before has Robinson snuffed out pick-and-rolls like this or lived so constantly in a defensive stance — knees bent, arms out or up, a habit that could tie back to his improved conditioning. He guards two players at once as well as nearly anyone else in the world, using one never-ending arm to defend a dribbler penetrating the lane and the other to disrupt a rim-diving big man, his primary assignment.