Game Recap: Knicks 112, Hawks 108

I hope that every day is the 12th of never. Nate played great and played the correct way. You can clearly see that he was looking out for his teammates. He’s not a great passer, but he was trying. Hopefully he can improve that. But it was an all around fantastic performance.

You also have to give D’antoni credit for leaving Nate in there with a chance to win the game. He knows the glory that Nate will receive and that a Nate led win will make his decision to bench him look bad. But he sat Duhon and Lee and let Nate have that chance. A stubborn person doesn’t to that. He also gave him real minutes like he said a player like Nate deserved.

the copach wanted a spark and got a full on inferno..

Cant wait to see the haters get on this.. and the sports talking heads slam the stubborn coach..

good job Nate.. way to show the heart , professionalism and pure game that make you who you are.

Nate had 8 assists and 6 boards.. dont know how you can expect more passing than that..

If the coach took Nate out we would have lost.. straight up.. The coach may be stubborn but he aint stupid.

Oh and whoever thinks that the knicks players have a problem with Nate or there is any “locker room” issue with Nate, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. Those guys cheered for Nate as much as he cheered for them for the last month.

Man… What a great game for the little guy! Hopefully he can remain focused and continue with good play to include assists. Wonder how J.Hill is gonna be when he finally gets some lite! I am a fan of N8 and he loves being a Knick. It would be great to have him here with some all-star like LBJ….

THE NATE ROBINSON SHOW!!!!

What does this prove????

- Mike (no)D’Antonie waited way too long to bring this guy back in the rotation. Even if we went 9-6 in December. Whatever……….there were plenty of times we could have used his scoring.

- Nate’s immaturity is really misinterpreted. He is an emotional player and that is what he is. Like he said in his post game interview. Love him or hate him. I for one am on his side (as long as he comes off the bench).

- Nate did not tell his agent to open his mouth (according to his post game comments), therefore he should not have been fined 25k.

- I am afraid that Mike (no)D’Antonie will remove him from the rotation if he has 1 bad game or gets a tech. He hinted that on his post game comment. Was I the only one who thought that when Nate hit that 3 in OT that Mike was not happy that he was not giving him a reason to yank him???

- In the shadow of the Nate Robinson Show lets not forget that ILL WiLL was driving to the lane and hitting shots for 24 points. Very efficient points!! However his basketball IQ is equivalent to Sarah Palin foreign policy knowledge. Remember him being on a fast break with the ball in his hand and instead of dribbling down the middle of the court he circled it almost crashing with Duhon. Still he is a great athlete.

- Someone please tell Jared Jeffreis to close his mouth!!!!!

Go Knicks!!!!

I think he meant the style of passing. No sure bounce passes etc. etc.

You really see the difference between N* and Duhon. N8 can pentrate and finish for himself. He’s not the best at setting others up when he penetrates yet. However Duhon can’t finish himself and there aren’t anyone other than LEE that he can kick it to underneath. That makes Duhon an East-West guard on the perimeter! N8 can go North South!

ALL OF YOU NATE HATERS DONT HAVE THE BALLS TO POST ON THIS THREAD. BUNCH OF LOSERS THINK NATE SUCKS. SUCK MA DICK. YOU DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT BASKETBALL. TOMMY WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW WHAT NATE WAS CAPABLE OF ON THIS ENTIRE BLOG. ALL OF YOU GIRLS SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE HELL UP.

As I said before, just absolutely amazing. Not much more to say than that. Nate was at his best, and singlehandedly won the game for them. Great hilarious awkward press conference from Dantoni, who will now of course get trashed by the media and all the haters. Just hilarious. Amazing. Chandler was also great, but Lee got absolutely dominated by Horford and sucked. Gallo was awful, didn’t seem interested or excited and basically seemed like he tried to stay away from the ball on both offense and defense, although he was on fire shooting so he made up for it with big shots. Just great performance, one of the best I have ever seen from Nate or any Knick player in the past 10 years.

Agreed.

Was that necessary?????

very neccasary…i dont see all those punks saying anything about the game….prob still have their mouth open starring at the tv trying to take in what they just saw and rethinking all their previous nate comments.

41 point 8 asists and 6 boards in under 40 minutes and we are talking about the “style” of his passing?

definitely not necessary. You just come off as an idiot when you yell crap like that. Just make your point without that bs man and your fine.

Myles.. Nate gets one line and chandler eats up a full paragraph?

Awesome comeback, nice follow up to Wednesday’s horrible game. You have to give Nate all of the credit in the world, he really stepped up after a long layoff. Maybe this will turnout to be a positive learning experience, he seemed to play a smarter game tonight. He is the type of PG that can thrive in this system but he has to play under control and learn to pass better on his drive and kick outs. There were a lot of clear outs for him tonight, especially in the 4th qrt and OT, so you can understand the shot attempts being so high. I actually thought they key was the first half. He helped generate the offense by not just shooting, but also dishing off to his teammates. Let’s
hope he keeps that up. Having him kick out passes to an open Gallo is something I can only look forward to.

Also glad to see Will not settling for jumpers. Let’s hope he continues.

Biggie
Read it again. The whole first paragraph is about Nate plus the start of the second.

took it a lil over the top….but people need to stop hatin on dis blog.

Yeah, no – this passing nonsense needs to stop. It might be only one game, but it was a hell of a game.

Well said man. Everyone knows Nate can be a much more versatile player than he has been, there is no reason why that guy can’t average at least 7 assists per game if given the minutes. Nobody can stay in front of him. He can singlehandedly dominate games and shred defenses when he is on. Just has to continue to learn that he doesn’t always need to go 1 on 5, just draw defense and find the open guy. I am really looking forward to him and Gallo working together, should have happened a long time ago. Hopefully Nate can keep this smart play up even if he probably won’t do this very often.

I think Big’s getting at the editorial praise, or a lack there of. I’m pretty sure that’s what he means

pretty damn ugly comments, knicks4lyfe8. get some therapy, beat up your couch with a baseball bat, etc., but be respectful. nate never bad-mouthed mda during his monthlong stay in the doghouse. mebbe you could learn something from the krypto?

lotsa folks luv nate, just want more effort on passing and defense. coach may have found the magic formula of a zone defense + nate’s scoring in the 4th quarter to mount comebacks.

i’ve said this on other boards, nate has all-star talent, just needs to change his attitude and focus. tonight was a prime example of what he can do when he’s playing the right way.

now the hawks didn’t really double nate. we’ll see what happens when defenses start to focus on him more, i think we’ll see some amazing dishes from him then, looking forward to the pacers!

sure man. No problem and you are right, people hate too much both ways. Too much animosity on this blog at times. I think everyone is really glad for Nate though right now, even Nate haters or whatever.

not really but i just say it because I know what side Myles comes down on in the Nate debate.

who exactly are you talking to? If you feel there are Nate haters on this blog, feel free to call them.

gettting warmer..

I really dont think we grasp what tonite means in terms of how the New York Press is gonna roll with this story..

The coach shouold thank his lucky stars he is on the road.

a mea culpa has gotta happen at some point..

cant crack one liners for too long.

twitter is blowing it up.

but I agree that lost in this was a great great performance by Ill Will.

Probably because Chandler’s improving play is so encouraging. It’s not like we didn’t know that Nate was capable of doing this. Nobody doubts Nate’s talent and we saw numbers and performances like this from him last year. I think Myles was just praising Chandler for his better play because his development is pretty important to the team after his extremely poor start to the year.

Not really the time to be talking about his “style” of passing after this incredible performance. I think what people are trying to get at is that the whole team basically stops and watches him do his thing, but that is of course the right thing to do when he is going nuts like that. It can and will hurt the team though if he is not on, which is exactly what happened last year after the trade for Buckets when the offense just consisted of Buckets and Nate pounding the ball everygame and everyone watching.

Man is this situation going to blow the hell up now with the new york press. The Knicks can just never avoid being a circus. Its insane.

You guys are really defensive tonight.

I think our guys got full of themselves with the dismantling of the Pistons and NJ served a wake up call. Nate is back but for how long, D Lee was shaky 2 nights str8 to me but cant be hot all the time

I agree with you Biggie. I was talking with a buddy of mine and he said this about the whole 14 game benching. N8 is our Manu. He comes off the bench to score even though he can start. He doesn’t play defense like Manu and therefore a more defensive minded player starts. Greg Popovich (who btw has the reputation of being the strictest coach around) would not sit Manu for 14 games to make an example out of him. Even if the Spurs went on a 14 game winning streak. Why does Mike (no)D’Antonie gets a pass?????

Just another reason why Lee is not a 5 in this league. back to back performances vs. quality centers.

In regards to Nate, I don’t know what you would call me. I was happy to see him bench and I glad to see him playing again. Nate has skill, plays with emotion, and has many unique intangibles; however, he can be selfish, displays immaturity, and can be highlight orientated.

I’ve read with amusement all the Pro-Nate/Anti-Nate debate going on the past few week and been amused with the inability of either side to see points in both positions.

To the Nate Haters, his performance tonight must be acknowledged and celebrated. This doesn’t forgive all past issues, but it may be the first step in his maturing and becoming a better team player. Time will tell, but it was a great first step

To the Nate Lovers, his performance tonight gives you the right to pound your chest, while reinforcing your steadfast support and belief in Nate. However, it’s shortsighted to disregard the impact that D’Antoni’s decision to bench Nate had on Nate’s game.

Despite all its stars, the NBA remains at its core a team game, with a focus on winning. In my opinion, D’Antoni’s decision to bench Nate was intended to send a message and refocus him. If it works (one game is only the first step), it will be good for the Knicks, Nate, and D’Antoni.

In closing, kudos to Nate and D’Antoini! Personally I’ll take a 9-6 record without Nate if it was necessary to assert D’Antoni control of the team and refocus Nate’s attitude and team play. If Nate continues to build on this performance, the Knicks will continue winning. That’s what its all about to me.

“Was I the only one who thought that when Nate hit that 3 in OT that Mike was not happy that he was not giving him a reason to yank him???”

yes

Some real smart commentators on this blog get lost in their egos….
Biggie you made your point now move I mean why is this so important..

Nate can score we already knew that…He had a great game

DAnt is most likely wrong for benching Nate but he aint goin nowhere. Coaches make decisions, with or without ego involved, that we as fans may not like, so where is the revelation here.

Bottom line, we are still at best an 8th seed in the East with or without Nate and overall hes expendable.

I just dont get how people get so into a subject thats so minor in the grand scope of things….The Coach is not going anywhere

I mean who cares the way the Press rolls with this story, its only a story because Nate is still here and that will only last for a short time

Agreed, Dude. N8 has a history of being erratic. Maybe the 14-game benching will finally make him wake up and use his brain all the time. That’s what he’s getting paid $4M for. Not too much to ask. D’A gets my props for asserting discipline to a repeat knucklehead. Some day I hope we hear D’A's precise reason for the benching. I think he was an ass for not telling everyone exactly why 14 games was necessary in his mind.

NBA TV is replaying the entire game now. 3rd quarter is underway. Can hardly wait for the N8 show in the 4th q and OT.

I said he had a fantastic game. It was a minor critique. Don’t blow it out of proportion. geez

The players always seemed to be supportive of Nate. It was the fans, media and coaching staff that had the problem.

If Nate has really learned humility and now fully understands that he has to play within the team concept or sit, his benching will prove to be one of D’Antoni”s smartest moves.

If he continues to play like a man possessed, the expectations of those of us who have championed him throughout will be realized.

This is by far the best post I have read in this blog in the past few weeks.

Well said and well thought man. People here forget we are all Knicks fans and we ALL want the BEST FOR THE TEAM. And this day I hope people just stop with the ungoing war between themself about the coach and nate. We all now they both have flaws, but for that game? We need to give props to both of them.

D’Antoni for making his stand as a coach, respect is being brought back to the Garden. We needed somebody like him to get some respect back to this jersey, wether you like his ways or not, he’s doing just that. Discipline has been non existen. Players who thought just because they are being out payed they have to play… nah.

Nate, boy way to handle the situation. Said the right stuff, showed the right attitude. Didn’t go crazy on the team, tough the agent didn’t help.

We all knew Nate can score. But tonight, both “lovers and haters” need to admit that we saw a complete different Nate. For the first three quaters Nate played TEAM BALL. Taking the shots that the defense gave him and looking around for his teammates. When the team needed him to just be Nate, he did.

If that combo gets some consistency, we can all start feeling good about the chance of the Jazz getting the 1st pick, if you know what I mean.

Again, well put Dude.

I second that yes.

Very well said Dude and everyone else. Its good to see some decidedly neutral Knicks fans on this blog who just like to root for the team and its players.

TIME TO TELL IT LIKE IT IS,
ALL THE NEGATIVE TALK SOUNDED LIKE THIS

“WE AR PLAYING BETTER D NOW THAT NATE IS ON THE BENCH”
NO WE JUST SLOWED THE OFFENSE AND BEAT UNDER 500 TEAMS.

“NATE DONT PLAY NO DEFENSE”
DAVID LEE AL HARRINGTON, CHRIS DUHON ARE BY FAR THE WORST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE, AND YET THEY PLAY.

“WE ARE WINNING BECAUSE NATE IS SITTING”
NO FOOLS, WE BARELY BEAT THE BOBCATS WITHOUT THERE TOP GUNS AND LOST TO THE NETS DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. WE HAVE BEEN PLAYING TEAMS WITH LOSING RECORDS AND WE ALREADY WERE TALKING PLAYOFFS

WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO IS THAT IT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE TO SIT NATE THAT LONG. I WOULD NOT MIND IT SO MUCH IF HE WAS PLAYING DOUGLAS BUT HE WASN’T. I HAVE TO POST MY LAST BLOG ON THE OTHER BOARD FOR THE HATERS.

Tue, Dec 1 Phoenix W 126-99
Wed, Dec 2 @ Orlando L 104-118
Fri, Dec 4 @ Atlanta W 114-107
Sun, Dec 6 New Jersey W 106-97
Mon, Dec 7 Portland W 93-84
Fri, Dec 11 @ New Orleans W 113-96
Tue, Dec 15 @ Charlotte L 87-94
Thu, Dec 17 @ Chicago L 89-98
Fri, Dec 18 LA Clippers W 95-91
Sun, Dec 20 Charlotte W 98-94
Tue, Dec 22 Chicago W 88-81
Fri, Dec 25 Miami L 87-93 11-18
Sun, Dec 27 San Antonio L 88-95
Tue, Dec 29 @ Detroit W 104-87
Wed, Dec30 @ New JerS L 95-104

PHX PORTLAND AND ATLANTA ARE THE ONLY TEAMS WITH WINNING RECORDS THAT WE BEAT WITHOUT NATE

THE KNICKS HAVE ONE PLAYER WHO CAN COMPETE WITH ANY SUPERSTAR ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT. HE CAN PRODUCE OFFENSE AFTER BEING BENCHED FOR 30 DAYS. HE WAS AMAZING. HE WAS GREAT, HE WAS NATE. I AM GOING TO BLAME COACH MD FOR BENCHING HIM FOR SO LONG. WE ONLY BEAT BAD TEAMS AND TEAMS WHO HAD KEY INJURIES IN THAT MINI WINNING STREAK EVERYONE WAS SO HAPPY WITH, I JUST HATE HOW SOME FANS ON THIS BOARD BEAT ON NATE NIGHT AFTER NIGHT. THE BOY DEMANDED RESPECT FROM THE OTHER TEAM AS SOON AS HE STEPPED ON THE FLOOR BUT COULD NOT GET RESPECT FROM THE KNICK FANS. I WILL MISS HIM WHEN HE IS GONE BUT TONIGHT I WILL ENJOY HIM IN A KNICK UNIFORM.

excellent post. I agree 100%.

Not many people really doubted the skill of Nate, it was more the attitude. This was a big game for Nate in so many ways. He was awesome. Not looking at any stats, this has to be one of his best games in the NBA.

I hope he keeps it up. If he does… wow… 2010 could be a great start for the knicks. Its almost to corny a story for hollywood.

Props to Nate for handling everything with this perfectly.
Props to Mike D for taking control of the Knicks. Its nice to see the Captain running the ship instead of the inmates running the asylum.
Props to Donnie W for the cigar you know he is smoking tonight
Props to Nate for one of the funniest post game interviews I have ever seen. Dude just won an oscar.

I came home from Sherlock Holmes and got home at the start of the 4th quarter. Best win of the decade!!!!

normally the caps lock button has a light on it to tell you when its on.

Yeah seriously ease up on the caps. Watching the game again, Gallo played some great intense defense in the 4th. Im very impressed, even though he was getting schooled earlier in the game. He really clamped down and hit some big shots.

Look one thing nobody can argue with is our team started off 1-9 because Mike was trying to find a winning rotation (who they played and beat does NOT matter) when he found a winning rotation it just happened to not have Nate in it.
No one’s “hating” on Nate we all know how talented he is BUT Why mess with a winning rotation? Because we lost one here and there? once you go on a losing streak then you look for answers.
I agree 100% with Mike’s decision.
Just a question does Coach D’Antoni jump for joy when Gallo makes a three?

The twitter world in particularly NBA players have taken notice of Nate’s performance tonight.

I wonder if this whole Nate situation has changed the view of NBA players about D’antoni. There is no way he can bench him again without D’antoni losing some of his luster among the NBA elite.

I dont tweet. Are they saying things like. “Way to show them nate!” and “Man, the knicks got whats coming to them!”

The Knicks did their thing tonight. I watched the game twice and I saw everybody from Hill to landry and Lee congratulate Nate after big shots and and 1′s. I didnt get a glimpse of E. Curry with any of the celebrations. E. Curry missing or salty?

alanhahn tweeted: “Hold up with the D’Antoni criticism. Nate himself admitted the benching made him think about his antics. Let’s see if he has truly learned.

There you have it.

we all know nate is a good player.
u can’t always blaim the player the coach is something the prob with a lack of intelligence alot of things can go wrong
danni boy is the grown up talk to the kids etc..

i hope he continues
this start
thats if he plays again.

No eddy was in the love fest to. there are pictures on yahoo.

I mean when you say he didn’t pass a certain way or that he’s not a passer will make people aggresive. Because in the first, second quarters of the game he was making the right passes. But to Knick fans, no one is a real passing pg accept for Duhon. And he makes some of the dumbest passes a pg of his experience makes. He has guys open and doesn’t hit them on time for the basket. I call him the cyclops because on many occusions, he passes like he has one eye. His passing vision is limited. But you have Nate and toney who most times than not their passes are on point, but then again to fans they are not good passers. See why they are defensive?

His attitude seems pretty different during the game a bit. No elaborate celebrating and seemed really humble in the post game. Good job, Nate. Keep that passion high. Hope you really learned from that benching. The focus: Playoffs and be an elite player that we know you can be. Good going, Nate and the Knicks.

hey like i said ,hes had games like this before.its a matter of sticking to it,or falling back to his old habits

ONLY IN THIS ONE GAME

BOY,IT TAKES A REAL GENIUS OF HOOPS TO COME UP WITH “SUCK MA DICK”….MAYBE YOU SHOULD COACH THE KNICKS.EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE KNEW THAT NATE WAS CAPABLE OF DOING THIS….ya know why?…..BECAUSE HES DONE IT BEFORE EINSTIEN!!!

YOUR COMPARING NATE WITH MANU?…you guys have been saying such stupid things about the NATE game tonite ,that you are actually making me root for DaN phoney.cHRIST ITS ONE GAME,IF NATE PLAYED EVERY GAME LIKE THIS HE BE ON THE ALL-STAR TEAM AND WE WOULDNT NEED TO LOWER THE CAP

I TELL YA ANOTHER THING…CHANDLER HAS BEEN PLAYING SO WELL LATELY,THAT IM ALMOST READY TO EAT CROW ON MY CHANDLER OPINION….(almost!)

well…their CLOWN had a good show!

that was an intelligent post…you get POST OF THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! AND ………AN AT HOME VERSION OF………NBA BASKETBALLL…..AND………..A TELFUNKEN U 47…WITH FUEL INJECTION

Did Nate changed his number from 4 to number 2? Did anybody notice, or I saw it wrong. Anyway, he played a heck of a game. They should keep playing him and try to use Jeffries a lot less. Jeffries is useless, playing 4 against 5 everytime. The coach is not being smart on how he use Jeffries.

“There is no way he can bench him again without D’Antoni losing some of his luster among the NBA elite”

How does fellow NBA players giving Nate an “atta boy” or props on Twitter put any pressure on D’Antoni to play Nate or have any impact his perception throughout the league?

I have no doubt that GM Walsh would have preferred to have Nate play those 14 games, but respected his head coach and his decision. I have no doubt that D’Antoni heard the Nate chants from the fans at the Garden. Neither of these impacted D’Antoni to keep Robinson benched. D’Antoni benched Nate to refocus his game and reinforce team play.

As long a Nate buys into D’Antoni’s system and plays the way the coach wants (tonight was a good start), I have no doubt Nate will continue to play. Conversely, if the old Nate reappears, don’t be surprised if you see Nate riding the pine again.

If D’Antoni is concerned about what other NBA players think of his handling of Nate and lets it affect his coaching, he doesn’t deserve to coach in the NBA

correct

I see many people saying we saw a different Nate, thanks to Dantoni…

but in truth Nate played virtually IDENTICAL to the way he played against Orlando in the Garden when he dropped 22 in the fourth.

He started playing the team game, looking for his teammates and making the right pass, and when the team couldn’t score and he got hot he took over the scoring, if you criticized him then, then you should do so now.

The only difference is the team is playing better defense and better overall, so D’antoni is not getting heaped with credit, from me.

You hit it right on the head, “stubborn but not stupid.”

Nate more often than not has a greater positive impact on the game than Duhon. Duhon has some skills but he has a little heart. He plays like a very comfortable rich man who is occasionally motivated to get up for a game when he is in his hometown or playing in front of a lot of loved ones. Nate LOVES to play. Duhon doesn’t love ball like Nate loves ball and it shows on the court every game.

Nate was no different than he has been for much of his stay in New York and he continues to be used after the starters sink us into double digit deficits. Nate always plays the game hard and is best offensively.

His defense was no better than usual and he still was extremely emotional and demonstrative as the game came to an exciting close.

D’Antoni’s message was a good one to let Nate know that he is going to play only if he focus’s more on the team and reins in his emotions. However, he remains close to the edge and getting t’d by a ref or t’d off at somebody again is inevitable. It could have happened last night as he stared down the crowd,, screamed and celebrated after many of the final points.

Nate does not need to change his game. He did not change his game. He needs to control his emotions and D’Antoni needs to coach with more intelligence than intuition and superstition. Last night was a sign that he can do that.

As I said at the beginning of the season, Nate is the only player on this current team that can make the Knicks a viable playoff candidate if he is allowed to do his thing. D’Antoni needs Nate.

Hmmm. Did it take Nate 14 games to figure that out? And do you really believe that Nate was “humbled” as he claimed?

D’Antoni gets criticized because he deserves it. Sitting Nate for 14 games was stupid in so many ways even before Nate scored 41.

And isn’t it interesting all of the players who are so happy for Nate compared to the constant claim by people out of the know that Nate is widely reviled.

Alan Hahn tweeted it is not really a solid basis for support of any analysis.

@ Dudemeister, Sound post(s) man, Logical, Insightful, Rational, and of Reason, some of my thoughts exactly. Commendations to you for you truly have the wisdom of a seer.

Nate’s past problems have been playing to/for the crowd and his audience instead of playing to/for his team and his coaches it’s as simple as that. His passion is acceptable and I don’t believe the coach has any problems with that, it’s when Nate becomes unfocused by drawing attention to himself, playing to/for the crowd, and playing with a me mentality do his play become unacceptable. That behavior removes his focus from “team” and “winning” and places it on “Nate”!Even DA` knows Nate has immense talent and Nate is his type of player (he is a 7 sec. Or less bllr) but like all good coaches and DA’ is more than a good coach, he knows you can’t win with “me” players and you definitely can’t win championship with “me” players! Hopefully Nate will grasp this, mature, and focus because I don’t want this cat going anywhere!

Sorry just a litle bit too excited for the little guy, just had to get my point across. Its been hours since the game ended I’m calm now.

Now we can maybe use this explosion from Nate to trade Jeffries. I think the Washington Bullets, I mean, the Washington Wizards could use a Nate and Jeffries package. They may not have Gilbert Arenas for a long time when David Stern gets through with him. He suspended Artest for a year for jumping into the stands. What he has in store for Arenas should be close to the same punishment. Arenas does not have history for getting in trouble, but a gun in the locker room is crazy.

This man hates to be wrong………..and with this game he was wrong!!!! It took him too long to put him in. Like I sad before Popovich would not sit Manu for 14 games. Nate is our manu.

I said “Nate is our Manu”. Not Nate is LIKE Manu. By the way someone ask where are the Nate Haters?? He is one.

completely agree. he had a great game. good for him but his issues aren’t that he not capable of this type of performance but that he can’t sustain it over days let alone weeks. I’m happy to see any knick play as well as this so heres to hoping that his bench time got him on the same page with the team. We can use the players.

“Bottom line, we are still at best an 8th seed in the East with or without Nate and overall hes expendable.”

- How is a game changing player expendable??? How??? He won the game for us!!!!!!!!!!

“Alan Hahn tweeted it is not really a solid basis for support of any analysis.”

Sure it is solid — Alan Hahn is a beat writer/blogger for the Knix for the NY Daily News, he travels to every game and he is honest. He certainly did not make that line up. N8 said the truth. What more could you want to base analysis on?

how soon does Walsh use New-Nate as the sweetner in a trade package to
off Eddie Curry and tract?

N8 has a history of behaving for a stretch then losing it with bonehead plays and antics. If you think he always behaved like tonight you have not been watching each game of his career. Here’s hoping N8 has finally grown up. D’A may have given him the best gift possible to extend his career.

First time poster, so take it easy on me…

What I think was so interesting about last night’s game is that it really highlighted both what Nate is and what he isn’t as a player:

First what Nate is: A lightning quick guard who can get by just about any defender at will, a great finisher, and a player who, on defense, because of his sheer athleticism, could be an incredible ball-hawk and even a solid weak-side rebounder (which is amazing for a guy his size).

What he’s not: A point guard. I’m not knocking the guy’s instincts as a passer, and Nate made some nice passes tonight, particularly off hard drives to the basket, but one thing that always sticks out to me when I watch Nate play, is how big the ball seems in his hands. This is partly because of his size, but also because he’s not very compact with his dribble or with his arm movements more generally (compare this to Chris Paul or Steve Nash, who are both really compact players, who keep their dribbles tight and close to the body). This results in a lot of telegraphed passes and defenders can get an easy read on them. Also, because of his size, he has terrible angles on entry passes.

I like Nate a lot, and I think D’Antoni needs to keep him in the rotation from here on out, but I still don’t see exactly how he fits in the slower, half-court, pick and roll based offensive system that we’ve been running for the last 15 games. Not to mention the fact that our interior defense is COMPLETE GARBAGE (as evidenced by the first half) so the only hope that we have of stopping bigger teams is by running a zone with our longer wingmen (Gallo, Will, Jeffries) on the perimeter harassing guards and preventing easy passes to the post. It’s not clear how Nate figures in here either…. This is all just to say that while Nate was great tonight, and won the game single-handedly, giving him significant minutes will definitely require a shift in how we’ve run things over the last 15 games.. It’ll be interesting to see if D’Antoni can figure out how to do this… But I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks.

Two quick points:

Nate’s defense last night has not been talked about enough. He was agressively playing passing lanes and crashing down hard on double teams. If he did this more often he would be a starter in this league. He still needs to go over screens more and pressure the ball up the court but his defense was like a night and day compared to before his benching.

Watching NBA TV and they talked about how other players around the league were tweeting about Nate’s performance and showing how much love they have for him. Nate is a popular player and I think other players around the league recognize his talent. If he just improves his defense, cuts out the fan hand slapping and other antics while continuing to be Nate, he will have a long career in this league.

D’Anonti was not wrong for benching him but he probably left him there a little too long to the detriment of the team.

man you nate pom-pom wavers are a bit much.

he had a brilliant game. he carried the team on his back. none of this is stuff we haven’t seen from nate before. the question is how does he play when his shot ISN’T falling? if he can bring the instant offense while within the team concept, he’ll be fine and he won’t need to worry about his contract situation.

a superstar, nate, is not. lebron is a superstar, kobe is a superstar, nate is a nice complementary piece.

Agree that Nate is not a PG but we can only take so much more of the 40 minutes a night Duhon era.

benching nate was the right thing to do to refocus him on the game and to refocus his attitude. I hope nate learned his lesson and play inspired basketball that is winning basketball.

Stern might be the least of Dirty Harry’s problems.

Alan Hahn works for the Daily News now?

Starks, what u smoking?

Every coach hates to be wrong.

D’A was right, not wrong, to play N8.

Was he fired?

I was all the way with you until this statement.

“But you have Nate and toney who most times than not their passes are on point, but then again to fans they are not good passers.”

I’m not bashing Toney, I like the kid. he could have a long career. I see him as a Lindsey Hunter, who while a great player was never much of a playmaker, but more of a defensive specialist and a guy who could push the tempo of an offense.

Toney Douglas, even is the games he played extended minutes, has had several games of 0 – 1 assists. He’s just not a point guard. Period.

one great game does not erase everything. are you guys insane? now you’re treating N8 as the messiah who’ll take the knicks to the promised land. ease up on whatever you’re smoking dudes.

BTW, i thought Heri was the messiah on this blog but i guess he retired blogging to become a full time pole-dancer. LoL

You said Hahn is a beat writer for the NY Daily News. I was asking you if he left Newsday because that is where I know him from.

“I mean who cares the way the Press rolls with this story, its only a story because Nate is still here and that will only last for a short time.”

Next year he’ll be the story somewhere else, helping someone else win.

The man helped to win a game against the top team in the East (record-wise), is he perfect? No, but is anyone else on this team? He has talent and when under control he can help ANY team. He can be the key for a playoff team if he’s used/plays the right way.

I was never against him being benched for a game or two or even several, but FOURTEEN was beyond excessive. There are a two other players on this team that could benefit from some benching. Lee (defense), Harrington (chucking, rebounding and passing) and I would add Duhon to this list but he is what he is.,

Oh, add defense to the reason for Harrington’s needing to be benched.

Thanks, my mistake.

I said this before, the difference between Nate and Curry is that Nate knew why he was sitting there wearing the dunce cap on the bench. Curry has no clue why he is sitting on the bench with a dunce cap on.

Again last night Jefferies was exposed and so was Harrington. Jeffries is a liability when playing too many minutes and Harrington refuses to play the right way. His only interest is shooting. Without Lee there was nobody to rebound so Gallo and Chandler eventually figured it out and picked up the slack. I give them credit for being the ones who did. Not Harrington who at his size and veteran savvy should have. He was out of position, did not box out and was just standing watching the ball disinterested. If he’s not shooting he’s not into the game.

He sucks and I hope he is slowly replaced in the rotation once Walsh is unable to trade him. Nobody wants Harrington, he’s a chucker and a ball hog who refuses to play the way he knows how. He’s worse than Curry, Curry has no clue, Harrington does and still is only interested in padding his stats.

in the grand scheme of life it really isnt that important.

But in the scope of the knicks last nite was an epic performance reminiscent of Willis Reed coming out of the tunnel

If you think it was anything less then you just arent paying attention.

Given the circumstances surrounding the last month of drama the coach has created and the discussion the coach has fueled then it deserves to be front and center AT LEAST for the 24 hours preceding the event..

To say this is at best a playoff team with or without Nate is just mind boggling..

Nate flipped the script last nite.. I thought the coach would NEVER let him off the bench.. It took injuries to the immortal Jonathan Bender and Larry Hughes to make it happen.. Otherwise we would have seen Landry for 40 minutes last nite..

Kudos to the coach for realizing this could not go on forever but shame on him for taking it to this level.

Now all the Nate haters.. coaches, beat writers, blog commenters and blog writers included.. need to check themselves and admit Nate is a force to be reckoned with in this league.

He literally has more heart and desire than his other team mates and coaches combined.

Before last nite I could care less whether he stays ofr goes long term. Now I must say I hope he stays long term.. even if that means the coach has to go..

I mean.. where do you get that type of player off the bench? Name another NBA baller?

the difference between Nate and Curry? Man that would take like 3,000 words..

I want Nate in a fox hole next to me.. Curry would be cowering in a corner beggin for his mommy..

Harrington doesn’t “suck”. He is painfully inconsistent and has no interest in rebounding consistently but when “on” he is our best all around offensive player. Guy can play inside out and has all the tools to be a third tier offensive weapon on a good team (those third tier guys are usually the ones who can’t do it every night). The most disappointing thing about Harrington to me, other than his lack of effort to rebound, is how much his defense has regressed since he has come into the league.

Curry doesn’t and will never get it. I’ve given up on him and you should too.

if nate did’nt sit that long,he never would have had this huge game tonite.and if you think that Nate Robinson is now gonna come out every nite and score 40 points,you dont know NATE.

Agreed that N8 is not a pt guard and his game is much faster than what most of this roster can keep up with. I don’t fault him for some of his bad passes — his teammates were standing around and not coming to him when he got tied up a few times. N8 is a dynamic spark plug and that should be his role. I hope he sticks for 10 more yrs as a 3rd guard, but he has to stop his pattern of relapsing into stoopid behavior.

Herb Williams should be fired. He develops no big men and he is no mentor/big brother for the kids like N8. Bring in a coach who the kids will be accountable to. All the Knix assistant coaches seem to be useless starched shirts.

you guys are acting like D’antoni benched MICHAEL JORDAN! jeeziz,this is Nate Robinson we’re talking here.The guy had one good game.I mean i hope not,but youll see,the next time Nate might start dancing at the foul line,throw balls away,and miss dumb shots

Agreed.

Nonsense. Harrington is a scorer and the best one on the Knix. His scores down low are sorley needed. Scorers only score to pad their stats? How about the idea that they score to beat the other team? D’A wants scoring. It’s an important part of the game, or so I’ve noticed. The Hawks were up by 15 in the 4th q. Was that the time for the Hawks’ scorers to stop padding their stats?

Sick post. No one’s laughing or caring.

Maybe Nate was benched a couple of games too long, but limiting the rotation was the best thing the Knicks did all year to get back on track. Everybody, including the coach, knows he can go off like a rocket and score, but if you listen to the post game the coach was already talking about playing winning basketball and that is his point in this whole situation.

The Knicks were constantly losing with Nate on the court. He can be selfish with shots and alienate an offense that already has a hard time finding shots. A coach has to find balance for the team to flow – that is why all great teams talk about chemistry.

If Nate can come off the bench and play within the team concept, then he will continue to play. Some nights he might go off again and score 40, but he has to run the plays called – this isn’t pick up basketball.

I’m not sure, but I think some of the younger fans that post only know basketball from watching one superstar carry a team. When the Knicks were dominate they all played a roll and played it well – that is how you win basketball games and it much better to watch.

Not even Kobe or Lebron would score 40 every night but I will say that Nate is a competitor who has that superstar swagger that no player on the Knick roster has. He should be kept on a tight leash but sometimes you have to let that pit-bull loose when you’re in danger. I agreed with the benching but not for the length of time he was benched. I think DAntoni makes a lot of mistakes and he deserves to be benched for a couple of games himself. I don’t think it was his idea to slow the tempo of the offense. I believe it was his coaching staff that finally convinced him to play at a slower tempo. The same assistant coaches convinced MD to give Nate a chance. The coach made his decisions personal and he should know that the NBA is a business. The Coach is as stubborn and immature as the player.

well… he actually celebrated quite a bit.

constantly screaming like crazy after he hit shots, pointing, etc…

One play he started screaming under the basket before the ball went in! It did go in and he got an and1, but he did celebrate quite elaborately.

But I would expect nothing different. It was a huge night for him. Which he acknowledged in the post game. How it was about him.

my roommate said that too! He did! I wonder why nobody said anything.

I have a feeling that on nov 30th Mike D decided to bench nate for the month of December.

When I see a player who has proven he can do things and refuses , well, to me he sucks. Plain and simple…….if he could not do it and played his best and played his heart out night after night then by all means he’s just not an NBA starter and becomes a good guy to have in your rotation as a scorer off the bench.

But the fact is Harrington KNOWS how to do all these things, professes to being a superstar and wants to be the leader of the Knicks and come back next year.

To say and think all that and then to dog it and play only when you feel like it…….he sucks.

I’ve never seen him dog it. He has his ups and downs as does everyone who is human.