The Great Nate "Non-Counting 3-Pointer" Debate

Whose side are you on?

Of course I'm referring to Nate Robinson's three pointer that he shot into his own basket today after the first quarter buzzer sounded in the Knicks/Nets game.

In case you missed it (what were you doing instead.....something silly like "going outside?"), the Knicks inbounded in their own half of the court with half of a second on the clock, and instead of shooting 3/4 court at the Nets bucket, Robinson waited for the horn to sound, then immediately shot a three-pointer into his own hoop. It was actually a pretty nice shot.

When he walked back to his bench, though, MIke D'Antoni was livid. Nate played roughly the first minute or so of the 2nd quarter then sat the rest of the game.

So now that you have the background, whose side are you on?

Was D'Antoni right to rip into Nate? Was Nate just goofin' around with the quarter clearly over?

(Incase you really didn't see it, Nate started shooting almost at the exact instant the buzzer sounded, so it was KIND OF close to counting....but Nate definitely knew it was after the horn).

My answer takes the easy way out - a little from column A and a little from column B.

I understand that Nate was just having a little fun, doing what anybody would do in the school yard. To that end, I had no problem with him chucking up a shot with play dead.

But from D'Antoni's perspective, I think he was angry with Nate because one half of one second (aka, 0.5) is plenty of time to catch and heave the ball down court for a miracle three.

I think D'Antoni's ire was a combo of his general long-standing frustration with Nate and his possible perception that Robinson was being selfish in not wanting to hurt his 3-point percentage by hoisting a shot from beyond half court.

When I look at it that way, I think D'Antoni was justified in his reaction.

But, I also think that the only reason this play is causing such a stir is because of D'Antoni's reaction to begin with.

If he hadn't blown a gasket the way he did, the play would have been laughed off and forgotten. Instead his meltdown caused it to make everyone's highlight package.

So in conclusion; Nate's shot.....not the end of the world. Should he have heaved it down-court instead?....yes. Did D'Antoni let his emotions get the best of him....definitely.

Can we finally put this story to bed?....probably not (unfortunately). I'm sure we'll hear plenty about it during tomorrow's game versus Boston.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle