Truly Doc's little project, Nate was brought in this past season before the trading deadline to be Boston's backup point guard. Standing at just 5'9 on a good day, he was essentially a gimmick for the hapless Knicks... a tiny 3 time slam dunk champion, and fan favorite who would score points in bunches or not at all. When he was scoring, his style of play was contrary to that of Celtics' basketball, meaning he would enter tunnel (a.k.a. LeBron) vision, and start putting up wild shots while forgetting he has four other teammates on the court. When he wasn't, he would become essentially invisible. By trading for Robinson, Doc and the Celtics' organization rescued him from forever being just that little athletic guy who could dunk real well. After sitting and observing alongside the bench for most of his time on the Celtics, while getting tips from a great coach and veteran leaders that know what it takes to win, Nate's gimmick status has been erased, and he is now a key part of this championship caliber Celtics' team.
Big Nate was clearly full of potential and pure athleticism, but often played sloppy and inconsistent on offense before joining the C's. As a result, when the Celtics acquired him, they did not start using him right away. Faced with the difficult task of filling the shoes of Eddie House, who's clutch minutes and three pointers off the bench greatly contributed to Boston's 2008 championship run, Nate did not seem like the best pickup early on, as his minutes dwindled and Tony Allen took over the backup point guard role for much of the last half of the regular season. Little did we know that during all of this, the little guy was working hard with Doc to get better and become a true contributor to the team. Early in the playoffs, his energy on the bench just pumping up teammates and the crowd was the first sign that maybe the guy was actually starting to become a Celtic at heart. For many Celtics' fans, his performance in game 6 against Orlando sealed the deal.
Nate's energy on and off the bench is vital to the Celtics' success, and really gives them something to rally around. He is a guy that I've wanted to like for a long time, and I am glad that he gave me reason to do so in the final two rounds of the playoffs, and I hope that this was just the beginning of a long stint with the C's. When Eddie House would come in for Rondo, he would so often knock down a three right after stepping onto the court, as defenders would be giving the sharpshooter far too much space after having been trying to prevent Rondo from driving to the hoop. When Nate's on, he will still score in bunches, but unlike House or Rondo, he has the ability to both shoot and drive very effectively. He would likely be a starter on most teams, and the Celtics are lucky to have him running the point for their second unit next season, scoring and setting up plays for the big men down low. He could not be farther apart in size from the guys he will be playing with, and hopefully he will be able to run some effective pick and rolls using Big Baby and Shaq to create space from defenders. The Celtics have a ton of talent, but just the right amount of energy and emotion, and most of that is coming from guys like Nate and Baby off the bench. The Celtics are THE team to beat in the East this year, especially with a new and improved Nate Robinson as their backup point guard... Don't let Jeff Van Gundy tell you otherwise.
Next up for Breaking Down the Bench... everyone's favorite baby.
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