Can Nate Robinson Replace Eddie House?

Boston sports fans, take a knee. We have lost one of the greatest off all time. A fan favorite, one who either went red hot and went for 30 or was ice cold, the target of EEDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIEEEEEE chants, and the true thug of the Boston Celtics: Eddie House. And he's gone.

How could Danny Ainge ever do something so stupid? Well, for one, we brought in the reigning dunk champion of the NBA, 5'9'' high-flying Nate Robinson. Now, as a die hard Boston fan, which of course translates to a die hard EDDIE fan, I, at least initially, hated to watch my G go. But I try to keep an open mind, so lets look at this from a strategical point of view and try to find some redemption that will cool our jets and keep us from hanging Ainge in his office.

On paper, Nate has a leg up. With the Knicks, he was averaging 12.9 points per games and .370 from three point land, while Eddie was averaging 7.5 points per game shooting .376 from three. Eddie was only averaging a rebound and a half, while the little guy was soaring to grab 2.40 boards a game. Eddie shoots a much higher percentage from the charity stripe, but Natedawg has a leg up in assists. So Nate Robinson makes the Celtics much better right? Big win for the C's?

I'm not so sure. Nate comes from an Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo, high scoring offense that focuses much more on creating points of the fast break than it does on defense. The Celtics run much slower half-court offense sets and have a defense-first mindset, which Nate, in his tenure with a traditional New Yorker "Gotta Score a lot" minded team, has never known.

Let's see what's happened since the trade. Eddie is meshing nicely with the Knicks, and after three games, he's averaging five points more per game then he had been with the Celtics. Natedawg, on the other hand, has only played one game with the Celtics, but he only dropped four points in sixteen minutes. Let's give him time Boston, but I'll be honest, I don't see him as a major contributer. Furthermore I won't be able to scream obnoxious EDDDIEEEEEEEE's every time #50 jacks up an ill advised three that some how finds the bottom of the net. I'll wait and see how Nate plays, but only one thing's for sure: Eddie, you will be missed. The Garden will always be your HOUSE.

Picture Credit: Keith Allison