Nate Robinson, no matter how diminutive his stature, is not a real point guard. We know that, Nate knows that, and Doc Rivers knows that.
In fact, Rivers plans to move Nate off the ball in the near future. Marquis Daniels will handle some of Nate's point guard duties. (Boston Globe)
"I wanted Nate to play more,’’ Rivers said. "I thought Nate struggled a little bit. But you can see him getting even more comfortable. Our plan for Marquis to handle the ball more kind of went out the window when [trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] before the game told me he wasn’t feeling well. So we put the ball back in Nate’s hands. That was not our intention.’’
While the "Marquis Daniels as point guard" experiment didn't work well last year, neither did "Marquis Daniels as shooting guard" or "Marquis Daniels as small forward." When it comes to Daniels, I light last year on fire and throw it out the window. This is a new year, and the past week has seen some of the best basketball Daniels has played in Green and White.
Daniels' versatility allows Doc to tinker with his second unit, and to move 5'9" Nate Robinson to shooting guard. The move could allow Nate to be himself. Truthfully, Nate is a scorer trapped in a 12-year old's body. Okay, so that'd be a 12-year old who really know where the weight room is located. But my point is that Nate's not a true point guard, despite his size (or lack thereof). At his best, Nate is scoring, and scoring, and scoring some more. He's using his pogo-stick legs to bounce by defenders, and he's changing games with his energy.
Lately, Nate hasn't done so much scoring. Despite playing a lot of minutes in Rajon Rondo's absence, Nate has only scored in double digits once in the C's last six games. It's not like he's really focused on distributing the basketball, either. In that six-game span, Robinson hasn't registered more than four assists once.
So maybe this lineup switch is exactly what Nate needs. The Celtics need his energy, and could use his scoring boost off the bench.
Marquis, your latest task is clear:
Free Nate.
Miscellaneous:
In completely un-related news, Von Wafer is fighting his way out of the doghouse. (Boston Globe)
"Von’s earning minutes,’’ Rivers said. "He deserves to play. It’s amazing. It just takes guys time. But Von understands, you play for us if you play defense first. Now, Von’s defending 3s and 2s.
"Von can play offense. There’s no doubt he’s an NBA offensive player. But to play for us, you’ve got to play defense first, and he’s doing that.’’