he still does a lot of the same stupid things he was doing as a rookie, especially late in games.

IMO this is more reputation than reality. People remember the stupid things he does, but if you look at the big picture (those inconvenient numbers) he’s actually been terrific.

This I agree with wholeheartedly. I’m a Nate guy without reservation, but much like with my 12-yr old stepson, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to kill him every now and then.

I do not have a problem with Nate’s offense generally speaking. Much of the criticism aimed at him is WAY overstated, if legitimate at all (paging Mr. Breen, Mr. Mike Breen). Nate’s been a good percentage shooter since day 1. He takes good shots (i.e., shots he can hit), occasional “heat-check” aside. He’s also never been particularly turnover prone.

Having watched a good bit of him in the Pac 10, I knew he’d make a good pro. But I honestly expected Nate to be a very good defensive player by this point in his career. So part of my frustration is my own disappointment. He has all the tools but not the want to (all the time). But to be fair, I was surprised to hear about his steals being up. I’ll acknowledge some growth in playing the lanes. He still should be a much better position defender though.

I’ll say this. I don’t think defense is something he won’t master. When he puts his mind to it he gets better. He was criticized for his ball handling and he got better. He was criticized for not being a “true” PG. That’s often a matter of taste more than anything, but he’s undeniably improved his passing. He’s got the athleticism to be a very good defender. I just want him to put his mind to that too.

he still does a lot of the same stupid things he was doing as a rookie, especially late in games.

IMO this is more reputation than reality. People remember the stupid things he does, but if you look at the big picture (those inconvenient numbers) he’s actually been terrific.

I think the timing of the stupid things (or great things) you do impacts people’s perceptions.

If you make a boneheaded pass when the team is up or down by 25 points, some people notice it, but many of those don’t even care.

If you make a boneheaded pass when the team is down by 1 with 20 seconds to play, then foul the guy because you are pissed off at yourself, which in turn gives the other team a 3 point play, it gets burned in the fan’s memory forever because it occurred with the game on the line and potentially cost the team the win.

I have no idea if there is a “boneheaded mistake stat” that measures the “impact” of a players mistakes, whether it would be different than the “overall boneheaded mistake stat”, or even how Robinson would rank, but IMO that’s the kind of thing that impacts the perceptions of a player.

People really notice what you do in critical situations (especially late in the game) and hardly notice much of the stuff that occurs during blowouts or when the teams are jockeying back and forth in a close game that everyone already knows will be decided in the 4th quarter.

Caleb – I think Nate’s steals may be a bit of a fraud and by the end of the year he will be closer to his career norm, whatever that may be. Of his 34 steals exactly half came in the first 6 games when D’Antoni was saying Nate should be getting 2-3 per game. You don’t hear that any more.

He might regress to the mean, but even if you take out the first 6 games, his steals rate would still be in the top 10 among PGs…

I would agree that he is overall still a below-average defender, but he’s gotten much better at hounding dribblers and playing the lanes – exactly what he should have been doing the past three years.

If his shot isn’t falling he’s a liability…

I think it’s time to give Nate some props. For one thing, it’s pretty rare that his shot isn’t falling. Among all NBA point guards, he’s 4th in scoring per-minute, and 12th in TS% (57.5). He’s also 4th in rebounds per-minute (at 5’7!) and 9th in rebound rate. He’s a solid passer and even his turnover rate is better than average. His defense is improving.

he still does a lot of the same stupid things he was doing as a rookie, especially late in games.

IMO this is more reputation than reality. People remember the stupid things he does, but if you look at the big picture (those inconvenient numbers) he’s actually been terrific.

But he still does a lot of the same stupid things he was doing as a rookie, especially late in games. If his shot isn’t falling he’s a liability which isn’t saying much now that he is in his 4th season.

Mike,
Can we get a poll about what direction fans want the team to go this season?
Im wondering if people want to make trades to win now, sign a guy or two to help but no major moves, stand pat and kind of tank or trade anyone with any value looking to the future.

I’m OK with trading everyone except Chandler and Gallinari unless the deal is a steal because I want to see more of them.

I would be disappointed by a trade that included Lee, Robinson, or Duhon because I can see them being key role players in 2010 and beyond.

I think we should be as patient as possible if it maximizes our use of any or all of our assets for the long term. I don’t think we should do anything that helps the short term if it hurts in the long term.

i dont think this team is good on defense because we dont have good defensive players, but long term i dont ever see this team being built into a contender based on d as long as dantoni is the coach. not that hes bad defensively or we cant be a contender with him, i just think he prefers players who move the ball and shoot well.

Can we get a poll about what direction fans want the team to go this season?

Im wondering if people want to make trades to win now, sign a guy or two to help but no major moves, stand pat and kind of tank or trade anyone with any value looking to the future.

As much of a Nate Robinson supporter as I have been from day 1, he’s still an indifferent defender; his effort varies, and even when he’s giving effort he freelances too much. He should be a superb position defender, but he’s not even average. People should fear putting the ball on the floor anywhere near him, but he doesn’t get steals

I would have agreed 100% last year, but IMO Nate’s defense has come a long way. His rate of steals has almost doubled — it’s actually third in the league among PGs. He still gambles way too much and is probably still below average on D, but he’s vastly better than in the past.
And I like Duhon’s defense a lot, especially the way he goes through screens. I agree it would probably be better, if he played fewer minutes.
Overall, the defense is a bit better — we’re ranked 25th instead of 29th! Probably the PG position accounts for every bit of the improvement.
Amazingly, when I think about it, Curry might actually improve the defense. I am probably insane to consider this, since overall he might be the worst defender on the roster… certainly worse than Jeffries or Lee….
And yet… when it comes to defending other centers – big guys – he might actually be better. He takes up a ton of space. He can hold his ground. And as bad as he is at blocking shots, he blocks more than anyone else on the team. I’m definitely intrigued by how he might look in the D’Antoni system.

I agree with all of this, and as for the Curry situation- he is a terrible defender. He will NOT stop guards from entering the lane at will, but… he should be better at manning up on bigger centers i.e. Bogut who ate Lee’s lunch 2 times already. He is someone Curry should perform well against and he’ll have to, in turn, work hard on D against Curry.

The short rotation (with so many players sitting and doing nothing) is starting to irritate all of us. The *rotation* players all have incomplete games as it stands, so why not fill out the roster with more able bodies? James is obviously an abomination. Rose does nothing. Noone has any faith in Roberson to do anything other than give Duhon a breather. I’m not going to mention Steph. AND then there’s the open roster spot! What a waste. Sims is a beast. He would be a cheap pick up. And it seems like we could trade Jeffries or Rose for a suitable backup pg like Watson… Maybe Walsh DOES need to hire a GM after all? A high draft pick would be nice, but I need some watchable basketball.

We all know what’s needed. Go out there and get it, Walsh!

With all due respect this isn’t true. They were winning earlier in the year with the same nonexistent interior D.

The main problem is, as jon has said numerous times already, is D’Antoni’s decision to use such short rotations so often.

Oh yeah– and the 6 players D’Antoni plays also pretty much all suck. That also causes some woe.

(PS– the Clippers are now suiting up three 2007-2008 Knickerbockers, obviously hoping for different results. Good luck LA)