'He hasn't been let out the bag yet': Robinson still moving through the gears

Given his pedigree, the Virginia native was touted as a potential MVP candidate when he first arrived on Aussie shores before a knee injury ended his maiden NBL season after just one game.

His return was tipped to be a game-changer as the Hawks looked to bounce back from a 3-25 campaign in his absence last season, but the noted floor general reflected his team's struggles through a 2-7 start.

There's no question he's found his groove since Tatum took the reins, top-scoring with 19 points at 8-10 from the field against Adelaide on New Years' Eve.

He also had four points and three assists in the closing stages of a 94-90 win over Sydney on Christmas Day, including two from the line to ice the game. That composure down the stretch is all the Tatum has demanded of his floor general.

"He's the head coach on the court and that's why he's so valuable to us," Tatum said.

"We use Tyler (Harvey) to give him a rest at point-guard, AJ (Johnson) to give him a rest, but he's our guy that needs to be on the floor to close the games. He just has to be there to be our vocal leader and know where everybody's at.

"He's been injured for a year and now everybody expects him to come back and be this player that he was recruited as. There was a lot of things going on his head but I just said 'hey, I'm not gonna let you go anywhere, I don't want to see anybody else here, you don't have to worry about looking over your shoulder for a new import coming in'.

"Downhill J-Rob is who we love, open jump shots J-Rob is who we love, and the defence that he's been playing is unbelievable. He's starting to get there and just be him and he is probably the biggest piece that hasn't been let out the bag yet."

While his numbers from the field have attracted scrutiny, the 26-year-old's still averaging a healthy 11 points and four assists a game on the back of his New Years' Eve outing.

It was a self-described redemption game having gone 1-15 in the "worst game of his career" in the Hawks first meeting with Adelaide, but Robinson's confident he has more levels to find.

"It's starting to slow down again for me, the reads are coming back, the games are starting to climb up for me," Robinson said.

"I'm just getting back in a groove and it's slowly coming back to me. Guys could've turned on me when I was missing shots but they didn't. Everyone just stayed with me.

"I came in from a knee injury sitting out a year. I'm not going to blame that, but my timing wasn't there, my shots weren't there and I think it's slowly coming back and just finding my rhythm.

"Even through my games of not shooting it well, I've been trying to find other ways to affect the game and winning, it's not [about] my personal stats

"I said last game was a redemption game for me and I think I kind of showed that. I'm just trying to stand on my word and be the best version of myself, whatever that entails."