Thursday, February 18, 2010

Nate Robinson Traded to Celtics for Eddie House and Giddens (DOES THAT HELP ANYTHING?)


It's not official yet but the trade of the Knicks' Nate Robinson to the Celtics in exchange for Eddie House and JR Giddens should be complete by the end of the day. It's been rumored for the past 2 or 3 days now so I'm pretty sure it's going down which is why I'm willing to talk about it now.  There has been a lot of speculation that the Celtics were going to make some big moves before the deadline but this seems like the only thing that has turned out to be legit.  

I wasn’t a huge fan of this trade at first but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Eddie House has not been playing great this season and when his shot is not falling, he really doesn't bring much else to the table. He can’t dribble, he can’t pass, his defense is pretty bad and overall he is just a terrible backup PG. He's really a SG in a PG body which is fine when we have a real PG running the offense but the Celtics don't have that this season.  Robinson isn't exactly a real PG himself but he's forced into that role because of his size.  He's at least a little more serviceable in that position.  

House has hit some big shots for the Celtics in the past and it's tough to see him go but sometimes a change is necessary to re-energize the squad. The offense has been terrible of late and even though House can get hot at any time, he can't really create his own shot. Robinson is just as streaky as House and he can also get to the hoop much easier for a basket or an assist which could really help the second unit. I think there is just more all around potential in Robinson's game which is why I'm trying to stay positive about this move.

Nate is small at 5'8" but plays much bigger than that. He's also super athletic and brings a new energy to the second team which is something that is sorely needed right now. He can score in bunches, and when he gets hot, he can drain threes almost as well as House (just not as consistently). He also rebounds much more than you realize (a few 10 rebound games here and there) and plays some decent defense. He can even block big guys like Shaq and Yao once in awhile:


This isn't exactly going to help the C's win another Championship this season but it's a small risk that could pay off without losing much talent.  He's only 26 and the C's definitely aren't getting any younger so if it works out, they have another young guy on the squad to help fill in some minutes for Rondo and Ray Allen.

I really don’t think he is as much of a head case as everyone makes him out to be but at the same time he could be a ticking time bomb.  I guess we will find out. I feel like being on a losing team year after year can really mess you up in the head and cause you to do and say some stupid things out of frustration like the time he took a shot at his own basket:

It's not an excuse but at the same time, I can understand.  When I’ve seen him in interviews, he seems like a decent dude and isn’t a complete dumbass like some of the other guys in the league. He was sitting with the announcers during the Rookie game last weekend for All Star Weekend and he seemed like he had his head on his shoulders. It could be an act but you can usually get a vibe on someone fairly quickly during something like that. He seems like a good guy and I am willing to give him a chance to prove himself before I make any quick judgments about his attitude.

I think he will be fine with the help of the older veterans in the locker room and I don’t see him causing any problems. Winning has a funny way of curing those types of issues pretty quickly. I think he just wants to win and will do whatever it takes to do get there. We will find out soon enough...


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