boutons
11-25-2005, 05:34 PM
The New York Times
November 25, 2005
On-the-Job Training for Robinson at the Knicks' Point
By HOWARD BECK
The comment came in a cloud of postgame frustration and probably sounded more insulting than Coach Larry Brown intended. The Knicks had just lost to an expansion team and Brown was bemoaning the state of his backcourt when the discussion shifted to Nate Robinson, the smallish guard with the largish persona.
"He's not a point guard," Brown said in a dismissive tone. "Right now, he's a highlight film."
There are probably worse things to be called, and Robinson, a rookie on the Knicks, does bring a lot to the celluloid: dazzling speed, big hops, acrobatic moves, fearlessness and yes, he dunks despite measuring 5 feet 9 inches.
Robinson is all the things that Isiah Thomas, the team president, said he was when the Knicks acquired him in June. What Robinson is not, by his own admission, is an N.B.A.-ready point guard.
So he was hardly offended by Brown's terse appraisal after Wednesday night's 108-95 loss in Charlotte.
"No, because he's not saying I can't play basketball," Robinson said. "I'm out here busting, playing basketball. That's what I do, that's my job. He's not saying that I can't learn to become a great point guard. I have many years to learn to become a great point guard."
Simply becoming a solid point guard would help immensely. Stephon Marbury has asked to be freed of his ball-handling duties, to become Brown's next Allen Iverson. Jamal Crawford has been shaky as the Knicks' secondary playmaker. Robinson, the 21st overall draft pick, by the Phoenix Suns, was acquired in the Kurt Thomas trade in part to become the backup point guard the Knicks did not have last season.
The only problem is, Robinson has hardly played the position. He was essentially a shooting guard during his three seasons at Washington. He played in unstructured, run-and-gun offenses in college and at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.
"Learning the P.G. role is just something new, new to me," Robinson said.
Learning the position under Brown, as demanding a coach on point guards as there is, makes the growing pains that much more intense. Brown wants his point guards to keep the offense under control, to call plays, to know where everyone on the court belongs and to create easy scoring chances for all. At Washington, Robinson said, he rarely even ran a pick-and-roll play, a staple of every N.B.A. offense.
When the opponent has the ball, Robinson is expected to turn loose his arsenal of speed and athleticism, to apply full-court pressure and disrupt the offense. Brown then expects him to downshift at the other end.
"It's like you feel like Atlas - you've got the whole world on your shoulders, because he asks for so much," Robinson said. "And it's like, you want to give it to him, but at the same time, you're learning to be a perfectionist. And it's tough trying to do everything Coach says."
In the breathless transition from hyperactive defender to steady playmaker, Robinson sometimes forgets which play to call. It happened Wednesday in Charlotte, earning Robinson a rebuke from Brown.
"I kind of blacked out, because I'm trying to think about so many plays to run," Robinson said.
He is also fighting the urge to simply take his man off the dribble.
"Because at times, I know that I can take my guy," he said. "But at the same time, I've got to do what Coach asks and pretty much do whatever it takes to help the team win. I know at times it's not good for me to break off and do what I want to do."
When Robinson joined the Knicks five months ago, Isiah Thomas could hardly contain his enthusiasm for him. He was tough enough to play cornerback for Washington's football team as a freshman (he quit to focus on basketball), he could dunk with both hands and he had a knack for making spectacular plays. During a workout for Knicks' scouts, he reportedly shot 3-pointers with either hand.
In June, Thomas went so far as to say that, had Robinson measured 6-2, "he probably would be the second player taken or probably would have been the first player taken" in the draft. Thomas spoke of the excitement Robinson would bring to Madison Square Garden and of "little kids wanting to imitate him."
"People are going to love to kick back, grab a bag of popcorn and watch this guy play," Thomas said then.
True enough, fans have been enamored of Robinson's outsized abilities and his refusal to back down from 280-pound giants in the paint. But reality set in quickly - that the entertainment value would not necessarily equate with effective basketball. In the Knicks' first exhibition game, Brown chewed out Robinson for throwing a pass to himself off the backboard.
Admonishments about attempting the spectacular when the basics will do keep coming.
"He tells me that every day: 'Stop being the highlight guy,' " Robinson said. "But it's kind of hard for me, because I don't know no other way. I just play, and it just comes out like that."
In Brown's universe, the point guard needs to be a little more restrained, a little more predictable, perhaps even a little less of a highlight film.
"I'm learning how to become that type of player," Robinson said.
REBOUNDS
There was more to the recent Knicks-Portland trade rumors than mere idle chatter. According to the agent Dan Fegan, the Knicks tried to acquire his client, Ruben Patterson. "Two weeks ago, New York offered Malik Rose" Fegan told The Oregonian. John Nash, the Trail Blazers' general manager, rejected the offer because he "only wants short-term contracts," Fegan said., Patterson was recently suspended for two games after a profanity-laced argument with Coach Nate McMillan.
* Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
November 25, 2005
On-the-Job Training for Robinson at the Knicks' Point
By HOWARD BECK
The comment came in a cloud of postgame frustration and probably sounded more insulting than Coach Larry Brown intended. The Knicks had just lost to an expansion team and Brown was bemoaning the state of his backcourt when the discussion shifted to Nate Robinson, the smallish guard with the largish persona.
"He's not a point guard," Brown said in a dismissive tone. "Right now, he's a highlight film."
There are probably worse things to be called, and Robinson, a rookie on the Knicks, does bring a lot to the celluloid: dazzling speed, big hops, acrobatic moves, fearlessness and yes, he dunks despite measuring 5 feet 9 inches.
Robinson is all the things that Isiah Thomas, the team president, said he was when the Knicks acquired him in June. What Robinson is not, by his own admission, is an N.B.A.-ready point guard.
So he was hardly offended by Brown's terse appraisal after Wednesday night's 108-95 loss in Charlotte.
"No, because he's not saying I can't play basketball," Robinson said. "I'm out here busting, playing basketball. That's what I do, that's my job. He's not saying that I can't learn to become a great point guard. I have many years to learn to become a great point guard."
Simply becoming a solid point guard would help immensely. Stephon Marbury has asked to be freed of his ball-handling duties, to become Brown's next Allen Iverson. Jamal Crawford has been shaky as the Knicks' secondary playmaker. Robinson, the 21st overall draft pick, by the Phoenix Suns, was acquired in the Kurt Thomas trade in part to become the backup point guard the Knicks did not have last season.
The only problem is, Robinson has hardly played the position. He was essentially a shooting guard during his three seasons at Washington. He played in unstructured, run-and-gun offenses in college and at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.
"Learning the P.G. role is just something new, new to me," Robinson said.
Learning the position under Brown, as demanding a coach on point guards as there is, makes the growing pains that much more intense. Brown wants his point guards to keep the offense under control, to call plays, to know where everyone on the court belongs and to create easy scoring chances for all. At Washington, Robinson said, he rarely even ran a pick-and-roll play, a staple of every N.B.A. offense.
When the opponent has the ball, Robinson is expected to turn loose his arsenal of speed and athleticism, to apply full-court pressure and disrupt the offense. Brown then expects him to downshift at the other end.
"It's like you feel like Atlas - you've got the whole world on your shoulders, because he asks for so much," Robinson said. "And it's like, you want to give it to him, but at the same time, you're learning to be a perfectionist. And it's tough trying to do everything Coach says."
In the breathless transition from hyperactive defender to steady playmaker, Robinson sometimes forgets which play to call. It happened Wednesday in Charlotte, earning Robinson a rebuke from Brown.
"I kind of blacked out, because I'm trying to think about so many plays to run," Robinson said.
He is also fighting the urge to simply take his man off the dribble.
"Because at times, I know that I can take my guy," he said. "But at the same time, I've got to do what Coach asks and pretty much do whatever it takes to help the team win. I know at times it's not good for me to break off and do what I want to do."
When Robinson joined the Knicks five months ago, Isiah Thomas could hardly contain his enthusiasm for him. He was tough enough to play cornerback for Washington's football team as a freshman (he quit to focus on basketball), he could dunk with both hands and he had a knack for making spectacular plays. During a workout for Knicks' scouts, he reportedly shot 3-pointers with either hand.
In June, Thomas went so far as to say that, had Robinson measured 6-2, "he probably would be the second player taken or probably would have been the first player taken" in the draft. Thomas spoke of the excitement Robinson would bring to Madison Square Garden and of "little kids wanting to imitate him."
"People are going to love to kick back, grab a bag of popcorn and watch this guy play," Thomas said then.
True enough, fans have been enamored of Robinson's outsized abilities and his refusal to back down from 280-pound giants in the paint. But reality set in quickly - that the entertainment value would not necessarily equate with effective basketball. In the Knicks' first exhibition game, Brown chewed out Robinson for throwing a pass to himself off the backboard.
Admonishments about attempting the spectacular when the basics will do keep coming.
"He tells me that every day: 'Stop being the highlight guy,' " Robinson said. "But it's kind of hard for me, because I don't know no other way. I just play, and it just comes out like that."
In Brown's universe, the point guard needs to be a little more restrained, a little more predictable, perhaps even a little less of a highlight film.
"I'm learning how to become that type of player," Robinson said.
REBOUNDS
There was more to the recent Knicks-Portland trade rumors than mere idle chatter. According to the agent Dan Fegan, the Knicks tried to acquire his client, Ruben Patterson. "Two weeks ago, New York offered Malik Rose" Fegan told The Oregonian. John Nash, the Trail Blazers' general manager, rejected the offer because he "only wants short-term contracts," Fegan said., Patterson was recently suspended for two games after a profanity-laced argument with Coach Nate McMillan.
* Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company