NEW YORK (NBA.com exclusive) — Nate Robinson says he’s not about to make Chris Duhon the next Wally Pipp.
Even after Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni made the somewhat startling announcement that Robinson would likely be the team’s starting point guard “until he gives me a reason not to,” Robinson said he had no intentions of supplanting the struggling Duhon the way Lou Gehrig once famously supplanted Pipp at first base for the Yankees.
“Everybody heard of Wally Pipp, but that’s not Duhon. Duhon is our leader. He’s our captain and everybody goes through something. He was there for me when I went through my thing and I’m going to always be there for him,” Robinson said after starting at the point in the second half of the Knicks’ 107-85 come-from-behind victory over Washington and finishing with game-highs of 23 points and eight assists.
Read the full story at NBA.com. And for more on Dick McGuire’s passing….
**Knicks great Dick McGuire passed away Wednesday at 84 in Huntington, N.Y. McGuire led the Knicks to three straight NBA Finals in the early 1950s and later coached and scouted college games for the team. Knicks forward David Lee said he had spoken with McGuire just last week and that McGuire had been impressed with Kentucky freshman guard John Wall. McGuire’s younger brother, Al, led Marquette to the 1977 NCAA championship.
Here’s a great interview with Dick from a few years back by Dennis D’Agostino with a quote that reveals how much McGuire enjoyed life.
“You know, I never really worked at a job,” adds McGuire with a touch of a sense of wonder. “I always had a lot of time off, and during the season when you’re scouting you’re on the road and all that. It’s tough for your wife to raise the kids, but I have had an awful lot of time at home, a lot of time in the sun and on the beaches. I’ve had a great life, I really have. I’ve been home too much maybe.”
(Photos courtesy New York Times and AP)
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