Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
NEW YORK — The way Donnie Walsh figures it, Mike D’Antoni was right all along.
The Knicks president says his head coach was right for benching Nate Robinson for 14 games because the team went 8-6 during that spurt.
And he believes D’Antoni was correct to bring Robinson back Friday night in Atlanta, a game in which Robinson exploded for a season-best 41 points in a 112-108 OT victory. Robinson became the first player since Pete Maravich in 1973 to come off the bench in an NBA game and put up 40 points and 8 assists.
“It proved Mike right in his actions all the way through,” Walsh said Sunday before the Knicks crushed the depleted Pacers, 132-89 at MSG. “When he changed the rotation we won and then when it went back to Nate, we won that game. And he said when he changed the rotation that he was going to go back to Nate.”
Still, Robinson’s performance must have been a little awkward for D’Antoni.
After all, if the guy could score 41 points and take over an NBA game in overtime, why wasn’t he playing all along?
The coach says it was because he wanted a more defensive-oriented unit, and opted to go with rookie Toney Douglas and veteran Larry Hughes instead.
Now Robinson is back in the rotation and Hughes is out.
“He’s gonna play,” D’Antoni said of Robinson. “Obviously, he’s earned back in the rotation and I usually stick with guys in the rotation so he’ll have his chance.”
Hughes, meanwhile, is on the back burner for now.
“It’s a marathon and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him,” D’Antoni said of Hughes.
Robinson was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Dec. 29 after requesting a trade through his agent, Aaron Goodwin.
Walsh said he would no longer comment on his conversations with agents, nor will he comment on potential (Trady McGrady) trades.
But Goodwin had this to say about Robinson via email: “Hopefully he gets a continued chance to play. The kid obviously can play basketball! And the support and cheering of his teammates says it all!”
Walsh agrees.
“If he plays like that every time, he’s a hell of a player,” Walsh said.
The Knicks are on the periphery of an Eastern Conference playoff spot and Walsh is happy the team has rebounded from a 1-9 start to go 12-11 in its last 23 games.
“I like the fact that we’re playing better and that we seem like we want to win the games and that we’re competitive in most of the games we’re playing,” Walsh said. “But we got a long season to go and we got to keep getting bettery because everyone else does.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NEW YORK — The way Donnie Walsh figures it, Mike D’Antoni was right all along.
The Knicks president says his head coach was right for benching Nate Robinson for 14 games because the team went 8-6 during that spurt.
And he believes D’Antoni was correct to bring Robinson back Friday night in Atlanta, a game in which Robinson exploded for a season-best 41 points in a 112-108 OT victory. Robinson became the first player since Pete Maravich in 1973 to come off the bench in an NBA game and put up 40 points and 8 assists.
“It proved Mike right in his actions all the way through,” Walsh said Sunday before the Knicks crushed the depleted Pacers, 132-89 at MSG. “When he changed the rotation we won and then when it went back to Nate, we won that game. And he said when he changed the rotation that he was going to go back to Nate.”
Still, Robinson’s performance must have been a little awkward for D’Antoni.
After all, if the guy could score 41 points and take over an NBA game in overtime, why wasn’t he playing all along?
The coach says it was because he wanted a more defensive-oriented unit, and opted to go with rookie Toney Douglas and veteran Larry Hughes instead.
Now Robinson is back in the rotation and Hughes is out.
“He’s gonna play,” D’Antoni said of Robinson. “Obviously, he’s earned back in the rotation and I usually stick with guys in the rotation so he’ll have his chance.”
Hughes, meanwhile, is on the back burner for now.
“It’s a marathon and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him,” D’Antoni said of Hughes.
Robinson was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Dec. 29 after requesting a trade through his agent, Aaron Goodwin.
Walsh said he would no longer comment on his conversations with agents, nor will he comment on potential (Trady McGrady) trades.
But Goodwin had this to say about Robinson via email: “Hopefully he gets a continued chance to play. The kid obviously can play basketball! And the support and cheering of his teammates says it all!”
Walsh agrees.
“If he plays like that every time, he’s a hell of a player,” Walsh said.
The Knicks are on the periphery of an Eastern Conference playoff spot and Walsh is happy the team has rebounded from a 1-9 start to go 12-11 in its last 23 games.
“I like the fact that we’re playing better and that we seem like we want to win the games and that we’re competitive in most of the games we’re playing,” Walsh said. “But we got a long season to go and we got to keep getting bettery because everyone else does.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
