The Nate Robinson Era Begins

by Jeff Clark on Feb 22, 2010 9:18 PM EST in Boston Celtics Articles

You couldn't draw this one up any better. Tomorrow Nate Robinson will start his Celtic career by playing against the team that he played for during the first 4 and a half years of his young career. He'll get a chance to stick it to the coach that benched him for weeks. He'll get to shake hands with the few former teammates that are still on the team waiting for the summer of LeBron. Most importantly he'll have a chance to finally play for a team that can talk about competing for a championship without breaking into a giggle-fit.

BostonHerald.com - Nate Robinson wants to be a winner

“It’s a blessing, there’s no way around it,” Robinson said of last week’s trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Celtics. “They know how to win, they know what it takes to be champions and I’m trying to learn that.”

In short, this might be the most anticipated game between a team with a 35-19 record and a team with a 19-35 record (they are playing now, so this will change).

With that said, I fully expect Nate to be a sideshow (in every sense of the word) to the main event. Boston should by all accounts win this game. New York now consists of a regenerated Tracy McGrady, a very good David Lee, the immortal Al Harrington, a few young players getting their feet wet and..., well, Eddie House.

Speaking of young players, I wonder if we'll see a Bill Walker sighting (JR Giddens is still recovering from his surgery). Bill didn't get any time in the last game and isn't in the game tonight. By the way, am I the only one that keeps forgetting that we also got someone named Marcus Landry in the deal? What's the over/under on minutes he'll play this year? 20? 15? Less?

So what do you expect out of the Nate Robinson era? How many points will he score against his former team? How long will he be a Celtic? What do you think?

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18

by BudweiserCeltic on Feb 22, 2010 9:20 PM EST reply actions

Is 18 your guess at the number of points Nate will score tomorrow night, or the number of the championship you expect him to help bring to the Celtics?

by VtCeltics on Feb 22, 2010 9:38 PM EST up reply actions

I think the number speaks for itself.

by BudweiserCeltic on Feb 22, 2010 9:47 PM EST up reply actions

Nate is...

…can be the multi-dimensional player that Eddie House never was. I expect him to be a nice surprise. Something totally unexpected. My Knicks friends tell me we got the bad side of this deal because Nate has some issues with authority. I don’t think so. People change and the enviroment also matters. Boston might just be the right environment for Nate.

"You're about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse kicking contest." Rowan Atkinson

by The Village Idiot on Feb 22, 2010 9:25 PM EST reply actions

12 points. Quietly.

Nate will get 20 mins, and he’ll score 12 points. It’ll be quiet too, because Doc doesn’t play up the drama with new guys. The bigger story will be Jalen House. Mark my words.

Reporter: About a year ago I asked about the Celtics-Lakers thing and you said you'd really only seen it on TV. Now you've been through it, can you talk about playing the Boston Celtics for the NBA championship?
Kobe: It Sucks.

by Tom Bellinger on Feb 22, 2010 9:33 PM EST reply actions

If T-Mac can play 30 minutes and put up 26 pts after barely seeing the court all year....

I wouldn’t be surprised if Doc lets Nate loose if he heats up. Even recovering from the flu, he has to be in better game shape than T-Mac was. Neither knows their team’s playbook anyway.

Doc always says he wants to limit minutes, yet repeatedly keeps Pierce and Ray in the game even when it’s a done deal. So I could see Nate playing more than he expects, especially if Pierce sits.

by post-it note on Feb 22, 2010 9:44 PM EST reply actions

great trade

I love this trade…Nate will give them points off the pine.

by 17rings on Feb 22, 2010 9:50 PM EST reply actions

Going Small

I expect Doc to try him at power forward against certain matchups.

by Brickowski on Feb 22, 2010 9:52 PM EST reply actions

Yes, I believe the plan is to limit Sheed's minutes in order to preserve T-fouls

for the stretch run. So Nate will be subbing in for both Sheed and Perk for much of the next few weeks.

by mmmmm on Feb 23, 2010 3:12 PM EST up reply actions

I will be sorry to see Eddie in a Knicks uniform

I hope we see “little” of Nate until the next game…..I don’t like the whole vibe of it…..

Is it Soup Yet?

by Master Po on Feb 22, 2010 9:59 PM EST reply actions

Looking forward to Nate becoming an ex-Celtic...

But, until that day arrives….Here`s to you, Mr. Robinson!

by Title 18 on Feb 22, 2010 10:12 PM EST reply actions

Knick fan living in Boston here

Nate will be fine for you guys…it will be very weird seeing him in green, but he’s a much more versatile scorer than Eddie. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score big in his debut (even though I’m dreading it). What you have to watch for is his consistency — he can go 2 for 10 the day after going 11 for 17.

He just wasn’t meant to be on a losing team — his attention span and discipline aren’t good. I hope Doc gets through to him, because he’s too talented to be drifting the way he has. Also, it’s best for everyone to realize that he’s a heads down scorer; he can be a playmaker, but breaking down the defense with a hot streak of scoring is really his thing.

by BandwagonK on Feb 22, 2010 10:37 PM EST reply actions

Nice post, seems dead on to me. I also think if Nate sticks around for more than one season Doc and co. could do a great/ even better job maturing him into a more consistent player.

by RedsBean on Feb 22, 2010 10:52 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

First of all that headline really should have a smiley face after it

The Nate Robinson Era? Give me a break.

He may do well; he may not. Eddie House may go for 24 like he did in his Knicks debut and probably will if Nate is guarding him.

I still think the main question should be how many games go by before Nate goes into Doc’s doghouse. I find it interesting that people are slamming D’Antoni for benching the clown, when Celtics fans would be expecting Rivers to do the same if he pulled that crap around here.

by lemonade sky on Feb 22, 2010 11:10 PM EST reply actions