Have Faith in Nate

Seldom-used in the first 16 games of these playoffs, little Nate Robinson has become a key contributor in the Celtics' improbable championship run.

Sometime late in April, Doc Rivers boldly predicted that little Nate Robinson—yes,that high-leaping, tripper-happy, often recalcitrant guard—will “win a game” for these Boston Celtics. He truly believed this, and he kept telling it to his young diminutive guard. And on Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, KryptoNate made a prophet out of his coach, keying a huge second quarter run that helped the C’s close out the Orlando Magic in six.

Apparently, Rivers did have good reason to believe in little Nate, but not even he could have predicted KryptoNate contributing this well for these Celtics in the Finals. Well, Nate Robinson really is contributing, and he has now become part of the rotation, this after spending most of these playoffs as a seldom-used for-emergency-purposes-only backup.

The five-foot-nine former Knick has helped the Celtics win two games already in this winner-take-all series. On Game 2, he gave the C’s six quality minutes at the start of the fourth quarter to give an exhausted Rajon Rondo a much-needed breather. No, Robinson didn’t do anything spectacular or particularly noteworthy in this game, yet the six mistake-free minutes—no errant passes, no head-scratching pull-ups four seconds into the shot clock, no stupid fouls, no missed rotations—he played in that fourth quarter gave Rondo just enough time to get the second wind he needed for his furious, game-clinching wind-up.

In today’s Game 4, Robinson reaffirmed his coach’s unwavering belief in him with yet another strong game, and this time, he did a lot of things that were noteworthy. For starters, KryptoNate scored 12 points on top of 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal in 17 minutes. Perhaps more important, he was the one running the show when the Celtics opened up a 71-64 lead midway in the payoff period. In one dynamic nine-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, Nate Robinson actually looked like a matured, top-level point guard. He directed the Celtics’ offense with one good decision after another. He fueled their defense with his in-your-grill, no-backing-down defense. And he helped ignite the crowd with his infectious energy and all-out hustle.

In a series already full of storylines, Robinson’s apparent transformation from a trigger-happy, shoot-first-shoot-second malcontent to a solid, dependable backup has been a welcome subplot for these Celtics, more so now because of the struggles of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and even Rondo.Think about it now. How different would Game 2 have been had Robinson unravelled in that fourth quarter? Do you think the C’s would have held on to the lead if little Nate was hoisting ill-advised jumpers or making errant passes? Do you think Rondo would have finished that game with a flourish if he had entered the game with nine minutes left instead of six? How different would this Game 4 have been had Robinson played out of control or if he didn’t play with energy? Do you think the Celtics would have won Games 2 and4 without him? Maybe. Probably not.

Of course, Robinson’s apparent transformation may just be a mirage. He is, after all, a free-agent-to-be who’s angling for a better deal in the Summer of Lebron. At any given moment, he may revert to old little Nate—the shoot-first-shoot-second, malcontent Nate. He may not actually be a changed man. He may not have actually matured. There is a very real possibility that this stretch of solid basketball from Nate Robinson is simply a matter of the stars and the planets aligning for him and these Celtics.

Doc Rivers, though, really does believe in Nate Robinson. He really does have faith in his diminutive guard. He had faith in Nate in late April, and he still has faith in Nate this June. And if the little man can continue rewarding his coach’s unwavering faith in him, these Boston Celtics may just win their 18th title sometime next week.