The NBA’s 30 best go-to players (#28: Nate Robinson)
Nate Robinson
Every NBA team has a go-to guy, and there’s really only room for one. It’s not about who always gets to take the last-second shot. More realistically, it’s the guy who regularly gets the ball when things are getting tense in the fourth quarter; it’s the guy who is expected to calm things down when teammates are getting sloppy; it’s the guy who is called upon to snuff out an opponent’s rally, or spark a comeback rally of his own; it’s the guy who’s not just supposed to make shots, but make the right decisions when a shot isn’t there. Bottom line: Who do you want the offense to run through when everything is on the line?
I’ve identified who I think is each team’s go-to guy for this upcoming season, and ranked them from #30 to #1.
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#28: NATE ROBINSON, New York Knicks
Leave it to the Knicks to treat their go-to guy like a leftover homemade burger, despite the fact they were eating off him for the better part of last season.
While New York famously stunk again in ’08-09, one of the bright spots was Robinson finding his rhythm as a potent offensive weapon and — believe it or not — establishing himself as the team’s go-to guy over the second half of the season. Nate averaged 19 points after the All-Star break, scoring 25 or more a dozen times in the last 36 games and finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
In the latter stages of the close games they did have, the Knicks had Nate controlling the ball. He came through during crunch time in wins over the Spurs (32 pts), Pistons (30 pts, 6 asts), Bucks (32 pts, 7 asts) and Pacers (41 pts), and kept NY close in losses to the Clippers (33 pts, 15 asts) and Lakers (33 pts), where he went shot-for-shot with Kobe at Staples. In the same way Isiah Thomas used Jamal Crawford as his go-to scorer in New York, Mike D’Antoni relied on Nate’s skills as the team’s best one-on-one player and one of the better shooters.
And yet when Nate hit the free agent market this summer, the Knicks made it pretty clear he was expendable. If Ramon Sessions or Andre Miller had been willing to play ball, Nate would probably be headed somewhere else right now. (As I write this, Robinson is reportedly going to re-sign with the Knicks next week on a one-year deal.)
Now, I can recognize two influencial factors here: (1) I might be overrating Nate, seeing as I tend to overrate all Seattle guys, and (2) Everyone else seems to underrate Nate, his trash-talking and on-court antics and childish persona sometimes getting in the way of his being respected as a ballplayer. So maybe #28 is a too high for him, but then again, maybe it’s too low. After a lot of debate, I figured this is about the right spot, which hopefully become more clear as this series moves on.
Anyway, as I wrote earlier this offseason, Nate is a player built in the same mold as Ben Gordon. He’s a pure scorer who possesses one of the NBA’s best handles and has range beyond the three-point line. His best attributes are his athleticism, speed and strength, and he’s actually better passer (4.1 apg) than he gets credit for — at least good enough to keep defenses honest when he gets into the lane. But more than anything, Nate succeeds under pressure due to his fearless attitude. He doesn’t care if it’s on the road in San Antonio or under the MSG lights against Chris Paul; he’s going to attack with the same bulldog mentality every time. In that respect, he’s a lot like his idol, Allen Iverson. Nate can be an NBA go-to guy at 5-foot-9 (at best) because he’s not afraid to take on that responsibility and he thinks he’s the best player in the gym.
On the other hand, his size is still an inescapable detriment. While Robinson has been developing a high-arcing floater and can stop-and-pop, he’ll still get some shots blocked, and can get swallowed up by rangier defenders. And Nate is more of a streaky shooter (32% on three-pointers) than a consistently good shooter. He’s prone to bad shot selection, and could be more effective at getting to the line (4.0 FTA per game), especially when his mere appearance will get him extra calls if he’s willing to throw his body around and do a little acting like A.I. has done.
Robinson often tries to do too much. It’s that part of his personality that got him to the NBA in the first place, but in a tough Catch-22, it also holds him back from ranking higher on this list and being a more sought-after player in the League.
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29. Boris Diaw
30. Rip Hamilton
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September 17th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Sweet English says:
He can dish dope dimes fo’ sho’ y’all.
Take notes class. They call that beating someone to the punch.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Sweet English says:
And he’s a cat.
real thugz eat fish
meow
September 17th, 2009 at 8:29 am
heartbreaker85 says:
this list is getting dumber and dumber. are you just naming the players at random? for one, diaw shouldn’t be ranked higher than rip. rip, though he is a complementary shooter than shot creator, is clutch. the same cannot be said for diaw AND even nate.
im betting lebron and kobe are 1 and 2 on this list. then maybe wade, melo, cp3 and pierce/allen. tony parker has to make this list since he’s the spurs new go-to-guy.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Jake says:
I think KryptoNate is a solid guy, a pure scorer, very enjoyable to watch. However, he can be a bit of a ball hog and selfish. But in terms of a go to guy… well he plays for the Knicks, so I think he kind of wins by default. However you have to give mad props to a guy thats 5’9 and can hang with some of the best guards in the league. His height can be a detriment at times, he’s to small to be a 2 guard but sure plays like one, but he’s entertaining to watch and thats good enough for the Knicks. Good spot on this list.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:43 am
sh!tfaced says:
LMFAO!
I be guessin’ Tyrone has nutha one of them new fans y’all, fo’ sho’.
true DRUNKS don’t puke
the real sh!tfaced
This list is becoming as confusing as a thug’s dope dishin’ grammar…
September 17th, 2009 at 8:52 am
nobs6669 says:
damn out of the 30 coach for sure wouldn’t think of this situation. but maybe if nate is the coach or he would be the pg at crunch time this would happen……………………………………………
damn i can’t still think of a situation this would happen. i would still use eddy curry
September 17th, 2009 at 8:55 am
M Intellect says:
LOL – True thugz eat fish. Miaow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 17th, 2009 at 9:09 am
doc says:
I dont like the road this list going down.
September 17th, 2009 at 9:11 am
king ralf says:
under these exact circumstances (definition of a go-to guy) i think the list is fine til now.
if the definition changed, there´s no way boris diaw would be ahead of e.g. rip.
September 17th, 2009 at 9:19 am
nobs6669 says:
hey guys have watch 2006 playoff run by the phoenix suns and it prove that diaw deserve this ranking
September 17th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Patrick says:
Nate is definitely the knicks go to guy, but he should be #30 on this list. That’s why the knicks suck.
September 17th, 2009 at 9:22 am
doc says:
@nobs-Forgive me if Im wrong but Im sure Nash and Amare was above Boris on the go to guy totem pole in 06.Bottomline is if Nate and Boris are your go to guys.You will be a terrible team.Just like their teams were.Go to my ass.Every team dont have a go to guy.
September 17th, 2009 at 9:30 am
nobs6669 says:
nope amare is out of the season in 06. and tell me if you remember the 06 suns playoff run. and to nate i disagree to this article either
September 17th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Sweet English says:
“Yo Nate, I’m really happy for you and I’m gonna let you finish, but David Lee is the best player on the knicks… THE KNICKS!”
September 17th, 2009 at 10:18 am
b$ says:
typo…nate and diaw are actually 28/29 on a list of most mediocre players in the league
September 17th, 2009 at 10:40 am
jzsmoove says:
I like Nate Rob. In the times I seen him play, he is a more capable passer and distributor. Maybe I missed all the games that he didnt pass or hogs the ball. As a scorer, he is quite good at what he does too. Now as the Knicks’ go-to guy, its a reach cuz the defense can collapse on him pretty easy and that will change his shot selection and decision-making. #28 sounds about right. but dont agree that Rip is #30.
September 17th, 2009 at 10:53 am
rocky lobs says:
theres no way you cant respect a 5’9 go-to shooting guard. his hunger is legendary like barkley in a pop tart factory
September 17th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Paul says:
Can someone please tell me why NO ONE in the NBA showed any interest in Nate. Don’t give me they were scared by Walsh’s claim to match.. Someone should have waited the week to find out. A Bargain could have been had. NAte might have taken 4m x 4yrs(What sessions got!), and you’d have a heck of a 6th man for the next 4 years!
I don’t get it! I’m glad he is back in NY, and just hope he doesn’t get down on himself liek he did during his shooting slump last Winter.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Mellmeister says:
Tyrone got a twin… damn!
hahahahaha!
I wouldn’t hand him the rock on crunch time… i’d hand it to al harrington if we talkin’ bout the knicks… if you guys really watch knicks games then you know he’s the go-to-guy for now…
True Thugs should stay in the streets, and off of the message boards…
The Real Mellmeister crappin’ on a house near ya… hahahaha!
September 17th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
the cynic says:
how is nate any higher than #30?
September 17th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
BRUCE says:
Rip > Nate
September 17th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
TJ says:
“how is nate any higher than #30?”
I’ve been screaming this since this list started…
September 17th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
control says:
I think the only good thing Nate could do in crunch time is start a fight with the team’s best player, or incite a fight between two other people. Other than being a little Napoleon complex suffering motherfucker, he doesn’t bring much to the table. The guy is 5’9, that isn’t tall enough to start on most high school varsity teams, and despite what people think, he DOES NOT make it up anywhere else.
September 17th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
J.Hicks says:
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: For everyone still complaining about Rip being #30, realize that you’re living in the past. Rip ain’t THAT nice anymore. I even looked up his game log from this year, and most of his games where he did work (25-30 pts) either the Pistons lost or they were playing a terrible opponent.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3330/gamelog;_ylt=AjO7Xcxrb7hJ5kWIGNyCyFRaPKB4
September 17th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
rean pogi says:
LMAO @2
True sh*t never sh*t.
Whatever that means.Y’all.
September 17th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Promoman says:
Overrated pure & simple. Nate does have talent and he is one of the top 10 in the NBA in terms of athleticism, but that’s about it at this stage. He’s a liability on defense. When the Knicks played teams with elite PGs, he usually didn’t start. The Knicks are a run & gun team, not a complete team. He thinks he’s better than he really and guys like that can be rendered useless, usually by themselves. That’s why no team seriously looked at him. The Knicks can afford to underpay him.
September 17th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
K Dizzle says:
I can’t get with this list. How does whoever Sacramento rolls out as they go to guy or whoever Minny rolls out as their go to now be 29 or 30? Nate, Rip and Diaw are better than any go to guy Sacramento rolls out, unless you think AlJeff and KMart2 are clutch and I ain’t feelin that
September 18th, 2009 at 1:10 am
bigger_daddy says:
okay okay. as noted in my previous post. how does DIME rank these ‘go-to-guys?’
do you base it on: (i) the team ranking; (ii) the ability of the player to take-over during crunch-time;
(iii) his performance last year; (iv) his expected performance this coming season; and (v) combination of these?
looking at the explanation in the first two paragraphs, yes, you’ve identified the go-to-guy, alright, but how do you do the ranking?
matsalams.