This afternoon the Celtic’s traded Eddie House, renowned for his role as ‘The Dad’ on Jalen House’s “My Dad’s an NBA Star” for the world’s Sprite drinking champion, Nathan Robinson.
While not as desperate an acquisition as those that defined the Celtic’s doomed 2009 campaign, which saw them for the first time flirt with a disgruntled Knick point guard, Stephon Marbury, and for some ungodly reason place some hopes in a really bad basketball player and first-name-speller in Mikki More.
Those unwilling to face up the reality of the hopelessness of the Celtic’s situation are probably psyched about the acquisition of Nate Robinson.
They’ll point out that his athletic gifts suggest he can be molded into a strong defender in Tom Thibodeau’s scheme and will be able to create his own shot and get to the cup, unlike House, whose lack of ball handling ability and offensive creativity relegate him to the role of spot up shooter.
They’ll say the mere presence of the Hall of Fame bound veteran’s on the Celtics will turn Robinson into an upstanding NBA citizen and that he’ll become a conventional backup point guard if that’s what Doc River’s team-first philosophy requires.
All those things might actually be true. Nate Robinson is obviously a more well rounded player than House, and players coming from New York are often unfairly portrayed as cancers in the press if they are unwilling to buy into Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh’s long range plan, which for two years has prioritized clearing cap space for the summer of 2010 over putting the best players on the court every night.
The Celtics eked by the reeling Sacramento Kings on Tuesday evening only because their untested rookies couldn’t shoot free throws in the last two minutes of play.
Does anyone think Nate Robinson is the difference between barely beating the Kings in February and outlasting the Cavaliers, Magic or Hawks in a seven game series in May?
This is not my attempt to bash Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge for making a bad trade. By almost any metric Nate Robison has more value than Eddie House.
This is not a bad trade, but it is a telling one.
Championship bound teams don’t need players like Nate Robinson coming off their bench. Their starters should be more effective and consistent versions of Nate Robison.
If you’re looking for a spark and an offensive force this late into what should be a championship run, you’re chances of hoisting the Larry Brown trophy in June are probably really slim.
Your starting lineup should already be busting with sparkly, offensive forces and your bench should be lined with incomplete but proficient workmen who can effectively nom minutes, hit corner threes, and potentially swing games by winning possessions.
That’s all that the Celtics needed from players like Eddie House, James Posey, Leon Powe and PJ Brown in 2008.
Think about the plays that defined each those now departed players’ eras in Boston. There was House diving out of bounds for a loose ball in that epic second round series against the Cavs. There was Brown hitting that one handed set shot in the same series, James Posey stripping the ball from Tayshaun Prince against the Pistons (the same play that prompted C’s radio play by play man Cedric Maxwell to implore Paul Pierce to “WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!!”), and of courses, Leon Powe’s insatiable devouring of souls, hearts, babies and rebounds.
Can Nate Robinson do those kinds of things? Probably so. He’s a talented NBA player, motivated by a chance to sniff the playoffs and his coming free agency. In fact, I bet he can do all those things and more. The problem is, that “and more” is exactly what the Celtic’s are expecting. But unless that “and more” includes the ability to roll back the odometer on Paul Pierce’s ankle, Kevin Garnett’s knees and Ray Allen’s back, then this chair amounts to little more than rearranging deck chairs on the SS Umbuntu.
nice
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