Zach Smart

Nate’s 41-Point Outburst, Hughes’ Benching Exposes D’Antoni’s Woes

By Zach Smart

Is it really “nothing personal?”

Mike D’Antoni claims Nate Robinson’s permanent perch in the D’Antoni
Doghouse during a 14-game span in December was not personal. The
decision to ditch Robinson in the doghouse, to bury him on the bench
while players who’ve done considerably less for the organization ate up
all his minutes, was solely based on D’Antoni trying to refine,
regulate and unravel a winning formula in New York. D’Antoni was simply
going with what works, living by the old cliche “if it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it.”

It still seemed like Nate was being punished for a crime he never
committed. Robinson’s exile was akin some headcase high school player
who stopped going to class suddenly falling out of favor with a
discipline-demanding head coach. In this case, D’Antoni treated the
veteran like a kid with a dicey past who was lucky to get a second
chance.

Nate hadn’t smelt the hardwood since the very beginning of December. He
was relegated to a pure benchwarming role nobody envisioned for the
5-foot-8 sparkplug, waterbug, energy-bleeding guard.

It was at the beggining of last month when D’Antoni had an epiphany.
His self-actualization told him the Knicks without Nate are great.

Read more

ZSMART & NBA SULLY’S FAKEST TOUGH GUYS

By Zach Smart

ZSMART’s Fakest G’s Of The League:

1. Jason “White Chocolate” Williams: The only dude this cat after got after it with was a Chinese fan who told him to get used to having bench splinters instantly inserted in his ass (though not in those words).

JWill responded by verbally ambushing the peaceful man, a Golden State Warriors loyalist who was shocked by no.55’s racist, profanity-laced tirade.

This incident took place back in 2001 when JWILL was getting his NBA teeth cut alongside Chris Webber in SacTown.

Read more

MESSAGE TO D’ANTONI: FREE NATE

By Zach Smart

My buddy Big Sully shot me a vital text message this afternoon, in regard to the relationship between Nate Robinson and Mike D’Antoni. The relationship, never a strong one, has frayed over a number of disputes.

Now, Robinson is uncomfortably nestled in D’Antoni’s Doghouse.

The point Big Sully was trying to illustrate is that D’Antoni seems to have it out for Nate. He’s after Nate Rob like Mr. Hand was after Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

Coach D’Antoni is beginning to use Robinson as a scapegoat for the team’s doormat, porous defense.

Read more

KNICKS SHOULD HAVE TAKEN AI

By Zach Smart

After overlooking Brandon Jennings–who’s rapidly become a Rookie of The Year candidate in Milwaukee–the Knicks once again displayed their pure basketball ignorance and idiocy in skipping out on Allen Iverson.

Sure, Iverson would dominate the ball and perhaps utilize his me-first mentality to score buckets by the bundles. Would the move, however, actually prove problematic for this floundering franchise?

Let’s see, Iverson contains blink quickness, a full offensive repertoire, and the toughness to instantly become the Knicks’ best player.

While we are at it, AI would have immediately become the Knicks’ best player in recent memory.

He’s household name with an accomplished game. Just check Iverson’s long hoop pedigree. The Knicks should have bagged him, especially after passing up on Jennings. While he may have bumped heads with trigger-happy guards like Nate Robinson, Iverson would provide a scoring punch that would at least elevate the Knicks from the Eastern Conference swamplands.

Read more