Nate Robinson wants to be a winner

[BudweiserCeltic]

Nate Robinson wants to be a winner

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/celtics/index.php/2010/02/22/nate-robinson-wants-to-be-a-winner/

Nate Robinson already has received some individual acclaim, becoming the first player in NBA history to win three slam dunk championships. But the fifth-year guard, speaking to the Herald tonight, sounded like a man more focused on enjoying team success.

“It’s a blessing, there’s no way around it,” Robinson said of last week’s trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Celtics. “They know how to win, they know what it takes to be champions and I’m trying to learn that.”

Robinson has been called a lot of things during his career, but a winner is not one of them. The Knicks failed to make the playoffs during his time in New York, and he developed a reputation as something of a selfish player. Robinson is welcoming the opportunity to prove he is committed to winning.

“It’s weird when you play basketball,” Robinson (right, after this year’s dunk contest) said from the Garden before a screening of an HBO documentary on the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry. “Every basketball player is different so everybody is going to think different things. At the end of the day, God can judge me. I know my heart and I know how bad I want to help my team win.”

One thing Robinson is guaranteed to bring to the Celtics is energy. The 5-foot-9 point guard is a scoring machine and should add punch to the C’s bench, beginning tomorrow night when the C’s host the Knicks.

“I’m really fired up about Nate,” Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said. “He’s going to bring a spark. We wanted to make a change in our energy level generally and he adds energy for sure. He’s excited to be a Celtic as well so it’s a nice fit.”

Paul Pierce is interested to see what Robinson brings.

“It’s going to be different,” Pierce said. “We’ve watched Nate and became a fan of him in the dunk contest. It’s going to be exciting. Hopefully he can bring some new energy to the ballclub.”

Robinson, who has averaged 12.5 points in his career, is known for his scoring, but he is ready to embrace his new team’s defensive mindset.

“That’s the first thing I love most about basketball is playing defense,” Robinson said. “Defense leads to offense. People don’t realize that. If you play great defense, you’re going to have a great offensive day. You’re going to score points, you get stops, fast breaks, everything — those lead to the big plays.”

Robinson, whose contract expires at the end of the season, seems to understand the opportunity playing for a contender presents.

“It’s just a sigh of relief to be on a team that just wants to win, win, win,” Robinson said. “That’s all they know and that’s all it’s about. I love that. I want to be a part of a great team, a great organization that has a lot of great history and hopefully I’ll get to set some myself.”

NOTES

Pierce’s status for tomorrow night’s game is questionable. The C’s captain sprained his right thumb last Thursday against the Lakers and is struggling with the injury.

“Right now, we’re talking about taking a few days off to get it back,” Pierce said. “It’s definitely something that’s been affecting me the last few days. I’m going to talk to Doc (tomorrow), but if it feels how it feels right now, probably not.”

Pierce said the thumb was swollen and is affecting his shot. He has gone 6-of-24 from the field and 1-of-8 on 3-pointers since injuring the thumb in the second quarter of the Lakers game…

As excited as Grousbeck is about adding Robinson, the owner was sorry to see Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker head to New York in the trade.

“We’re sorry to lose Eddie and J.R. and Billy,” Grousbeck said. “It’s never any fun to make a trade. As an owner, trades are my least favorite part of the business, but hopefully this one will work out.”

[GreenFaith1819]

Nice Post, Bud.

I can only imagine the atmosphere at the Garden for the rest of the season...Nate will be pumped...if he gets too hyped, that in turn will ignite Sheed, and Sheed will ignite KG.....throw in some "Ball Don't Lie!!'s....Perk Scowling...Rondo talking smack....WOW that's enough to drive most teams nuts, lol..

Man thank God for Ray Ray..the man keeps the team even-keeled.

[jimmehx]

I'm really excited about seeing him play. Have been since we signed him.

I hope what he is saying is the truth - that he really wants to play defense. If that's the case (and he is successful) he will be a fantastic addition to this ageing squad.

Good luck tomorrow Nate.

[j804]

also from the herald

“(Rivers) always told me I was going to be a hell of a player one day, even in my rookie year,” Robinson said. “Now after winning coach of the year and winning the championship, him wanting me here is definitely icing on the cake. I gotta pay homage by playing my ass off for him.”

cant wait !

[Tai]

Once Nate throws down that first dunk...ohhhhh baby! The Garden will light up!

[GranTur]

Garden will explode with this guy. He can be downright nasty.

The pick and roll with Sheed and Baby is gonna be DEADLY.

[pearljammer10]

Im excited for tomorrow night. I think its going to be a good thing seeing him against the knicks. He is going to be fired up and it will show what he can give us right out of the gate.

[PosImpos]

I think he's going to disappoint some of the people here who have super high expectations (at least at first).  There will be an adjustment period.  This isn't a high-paced offense, and he doesn't know any of the plays.

I think he'll eventually be a very solid contributor, though.

[GranTur]

Nate is one of the guards off the bench in the NBA who can score through isolation with scary regularity. Plus, almost all set plays for him will center around simple high pick and roll.

I don't think there'll be too much of a transition period for offense.

It's the defense that will take time to develop.

We will see what happens tomorrow.

[2short]

And side point this is where doc is good at handling attitudes of all players.  Trust me I knock him for coaching but he is a very good players coach and hopefully can have nate playing the team game

[Bankshot]

And side point this is where doc is good at handling attitudes of all players.  Trust me I knock him for coaching but he is a very good players coach and hopefully can have nate playing the team game

Why should we trust you?

I'm excited to see Nate play too.  Can't wait!

[2short]

And side point this is where doc is good at handling attitudes of all players.  Trust me I knock him for coaching but he is a very good players coach and hopefully can have nate playing the team game

Why should we trust you?

I'm excited to see Nate play too.  Can't wait!

because

[Greenbean]

Nice Post, Bud.

I can only imagine the atmosphere at the Garden for the rest of the season...Nate will be pumped...if he gets too hyped, that in turn will ignite Sheed, and Sheed will ignite KG.....throw in some "Ball Don't Lie!!'s....Perk Scowling...Rondo talking smack....WOW that's enough to drive most teams nuts, lol..

Man thank God for Ray Ray..the man keeps the team even-keeled.

HaHa! TP. Somehow with this trade we became even more hated and annoying to play against. I love it!

Although i have to admit if I was a fan of one of our rivals I would have a loong list of reasons to hate us.

[MBz]

Well, he's saying the right things, but he's known for not playing that way.  Basically him playing halfway was the reason D'Antoni benched him.  I mean this is the same guy that was slapping celebs hands after baskets right?

[Evantime34]

My impression of Nate is that he is a super intense borderline ADD person (from his Twitter postings) who has been accused of a Napoleon complex (just a way of saying he has a chip on his shoulder due to his height).

I think being on a consistent losing team with the Knicks made him try to get noticed for individual play because they were probably going to lose anyway. This landed him in D'Antoni's doghouse.

In Boston he will be noticed for every hustle play he makes, because a positive play made could be the difference between winning and losing the game. I think this will cause him to not make the stupid selfish plays (shooting at his own hoop).

I think his presence will have a positive effect on the team. Much in the same way that the energy and enthusiasm of younger players can fire up veterans, Nate's energy will bring this team to a new intense and fun loving level.

And yes I do think Green cool aid is delicious.