Can N8 become a star player?

[waltoni2010]

Nate aint gunna slow down duhonduhon hes like spud webb hes gonna be good right to the end and nothing is stopping him not even hating fans who claim they knick fans but aint they just here to hate on nate. how the hell can you hate on a guy like nate i dont get it and i never will he is pure fire and loves the knicks but these clowns hate him what gives.

[TKF]

Nate could easily start at the 1 if paired with someone like JJ or BRoy.

Whats so funny?

Maybe not start at the one, but he can be very effective as a player if he can have another player who can handle the ball some and he can play off the ball and vice versa. Interchangeable parts can make him an even more effective player.

he is laughing, but didn't roy and nate play together at washington? actually nate and roy started, and on that team was will conroy and bobby Jones...... So again, why is optimus laughing?

[TKF]

Can we officially say now that Nate >>>> Magic Johnson?

Dude.

Maybe I was over exagerrating a little. Clearly it's Nate = Magic HOWEVER Nate is several inches shorter so he does pack more greatness per inch!

nate can drive us all crazy, and he is really a rollercoaster ride.. his energy is both good and bad for nate.. but when he is on, he is a player.. not many guys you can say that about..

[waltoni2010]

optimus aint no knick fan tkf thats why he laffs u a mod ban this fool all he do is hate on our players and then creams for dandre jordans 3 points a game

[Paeds]

paeds, great points, but when posters are focused on being negative, you lose all objectivity and you get post like the one optimus made... to say nate does nothing else but score is just flat out silly. No other way to put it.. the guy is grabbing boards and dishing out assists as well as scoring.... Hard to ignore what he is doing. As I said in my post. he is no wade, or lebron or kobe, that is for sure. Nate is too wound up, too energetic for his own good. what makes him good, is what holds him back from being even better. But this league loves him, he is marketable, and most of all, he can really play.... As I said, the NBA and ESPN can make you a star figure. I would like to see where this is headed... really would..

If I am keeping it real with you, Nate is like a mini Wade/Lebron pound for pound

Of course he height limitations lessen the comparison but the strength and athleticism is on par or better. he is a better shooter and given more minutes his numbers would go up across the board. he is also has the confidence.

Its the lack of maturtiy that seperates them talentwise

[Brownsville's Finest]

I think it's already happened.

And I'm absolutely thrilled about it, no sarcasm.

[bumby401]

Newsflash

Nate Already is a star

Thank You!! hes already top ten in jersey sales and even higher than lee. he's a two time slam dunk champion with what will be two of the more memorable performances at the allstar game. he's been on david letterman, rubbing elbows with celebs on the front row. Taking over games playing within the system. Name one sixth man from any team with nates star power. I'd bet there are more people who know who Nate is than Danny Grainger, and he was an allstar. You all have been screaming for us to home grow a superstar, yet anytime one of our own seems to be on the cusp you want to trade him or bash him saying he cant do this or that. Embrace what is developing here..

[boomann21]

Newsflash

Nate Already is a star

Thank You!! hes already top ten in jersey sales and even higher than lee. he's a two time slam dunk champion with what will be two of the more memorable performances at the allstar game. he's been on david letterman, rubbing elbows with celebs on the front row. Taking over games playing within the system. Name one sixth man from any team with nates star power. I'd bet there are more people who know who Nate is than Danny Grainger, and he was an allstar. You all have been screaming for us to home grow a superstar, yet anytime one of our own seems to be on the cusp you want to trade him or bash him saying he cant do this or that. Embrace what is developing here..

Or package him with Jared Jeffries for Kenny Thomas or any other stiff who's contract expires in 2010. Or proclaim that du Du Duhon is better at the game of basketball. Or yell he's a gimmick. Or say that he's a Mascot.

[BowlingChick]

Can we officially say now that Nate >>>> Magic Johnson?

Dude.

Maybe I was over exagerrating a little. Clearly it's Nate = Magic HOWEVER Nate is several inches shorter so he does pack more greatness per inch!

You've been posting a lot more lately.

In my opinion, I think Nate has improved a lot this year and if he can continue to improve his game he can most definitely be a star. He, Chandler, Gallo, and Lee are what has made this season watchable this year and given us hope for the playoffs.

[TKF]

paeds, great points, but when posters are focused on being negative, you lose all objectivity and you get post like the one optimus made... to say nate does nothing else but score is just flat out silly. No other way to put it.. the guy is grabbing boards and dishing out assists as well as scoring.... Hard to ignore what he is doing. As I said in my post. he is no wade, or lebron or kobe, that is for sure. Nate is too wound up, too energetic for his own good. what makes him good, is what holds him back from being even better. But this league loves him, he is marketable, and most of all, he can really play.... As I said, the NBA and ESPN can make you a star figure. I would like to see where this is headed... really would..

If I am keeping it real with you, Nate is like a mini Wade/Lebron pound for pound

Of course he height limitations lessen the comparison but the strength and athleticism is on par or better. he is a better shooter and given more minutes his numbers would go up across the board. he is also has the confidence.

Its the lack of maturtiy that seperates them talentwise

yea, when you look at nate, people associate his athleticism with his jumping ability.. Now of course nate is a freak in that category, but his ability goes way beyond that.. His quickness, explosiveness, body control, strength and balance are just ridiculous.. it makes him a well rounded player on the floor... pound for pound I can't find a better athlete in the NBA.....

[JohnStarksTheDunk]

Im so bookmarking this thread.

Amazing. Score points and do nothing else and you are a star.

Newflash

Scoring lots of points in this league makes you a star

But here is another newflash for you

Has more rebs, more steals and the same points and assts and NBA allstar Moe Williams

Oh and thats in less minutes too

paeds, great points, but when posters are focused on being negative, you lose all objectivity and you get post like the one optimus made... to say nate does nothing else but score is just flat out silly. No other way to put it.. the guy is grabbing boards and dishing out assists as well as scoring.... Hard to ignore what he is doing. As I said in my post. he is no wade, or lebron or kobe, that is for sure. Nate is too wound up, too energetic for his own good. what makes him good, is what holds him back from being even better. But this league loves him, he is marketable, and most of all, he can really play.... As I said, the NBA and ESPN can make you a star figure. I would like to see where this is headed... really would..

Very good (and more importantly, fair) post. You make a great point about his biggest strength also sometimes being one of his biggest weaknesses. As others have said, however, this may get better if/when he matures, calms down, and becomes more consistent. Though we also need to keep an eye on his bball IQ, which is questionable at times and might not be solved by increased maturity. Guys like Kobe and Wade had "it" at a pretty young age, and I think that's one of the biggest things (along with height -- no pun intended, btw) that separates Nate from them.

As for Nate being a "star" in the spotlight, I'd say his already getting there. Winning 2 slam dunk competitions at his height, and then actually being able to play at a pretty good level, will do that for a player. As many have said, he's extremely likable and marketable, so both the Knicks and the NBA as a whole should really be doing more to help make him a household name.

I wouldn't say he's really a true star player, and may never be, but he's probably capable of being an all-star if paired with the right superstar. And he's definitely a strong candidate for the 6th man award this season.

[XcalibuR]

Depends if you think Leandro Barbosa is a star.

[boomann21]

Depends if you think Leandro Barbosa is a star.

I"m Brazillian so yes Leanardo Barbosa is the biggest star we have in this Portugues speaking country. Varajeo use to be the Lebron of our country until he actually started playing with Lebron. Here is proof of his stardom

[dainfamusgc]

paeds, great points, but when posters are focused on being negative, you lose all objectivity and you get post like the one optimus made... to say nate does nothing else but score is just flat out silly. No other way to put it.. the guy is grabbing boards and dishing out assists as well as scoring.... Hard to ignore what he is doing. As I said in my post. he is no wade, or lebron or kobe, that is for sure. Nate is too wound up, too energetic for his own good. what makes him good, is what holds him back from being even better. But this league loves him, he is marketable, and most of all, he can really play.... As I said, the NBA and ESPN can make you a star figure. I would like to see where this is headed... really would..

If I am keeping it real with you, Nate is like a mini Wade/Lebron pound for pound

Of course he height limitations lessen the comparison but the strength and athleticism is on par or better. he is a better shooter and given more minutes his numbers would go up across the board. he is also has the confidence.

Its the lack of maturtiy that seperates them talentwise

he's only 24, you can see the maturity from last year to this year. He'll get there maturity wise

[adjacent2bench]

Im so bookmarking this thread.

Amazing. Score points and do nothing else and you are a star.

Because Nate doesn't rebound well or pass well right?

Because over the past 5 he hasn't averaged 30, 7, and 7 (Lebron numbers) right?


And no, I am not calling him Lebron. But to think scoring is his only skill is just senseless.


EDIT: Just checked NBA.COM, over the last 5 games, Nate has had the highest efficiency rating in the NBA. A Knick guys. Others include Lebron, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade.


Yes he is riding a hot streak and of course those numbers won't continue. But the numbers he's putting up these past few games are just insane.

[Polk377]

I have been thinking about this over the last couple of weeks and the way he has been taking over games recently has reminded me alot of how Allen Iverson used to in Phili. I compared both of their stats and the only major difference was that AI has averaged about 42 minutes per game for his entire career. If you think about it they are pretty much the same player with Iverson having maybe 2 inches on Nate. They are both nearly unguardable 1 on 1, can get to the rim and finish over bigger players, neither are good defenders but play the passing lane very well, both have good court vision. Nate actually shoots at a better percentage and is a better rebounder then AI.

So yes Nate can be a star in this league it would just take alot more minutes and the offense moving around him to do so.

[boomann21]

Im so bookmarking this thread.

Amazing. Score points and do nothing else and you are a star.

Because Nate doesn't rebound well or pass well right?

Because over the past 5 he hasn't averaged 30, 7, and 7 (Lebron numbers) right?


And no, I am not calling him Lebron. But to think scoring is his only skill is just senseless.


EDIT: Just checked NBA.COM, over the last 5 games, Nate has had the highest efficiency rating in the NBA. A Knick guys. Others include Lebron, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade.


Yes he is riding a hot streak and of course those numbers won't continue. But the numbers he's putting up these past few games are just insane.

This guy not only speaks the truth be he does the research. Touche.

[cgf]

My biggest question is woth how popular/marketable nate is will he start getting star calls from stern?

[Paeds]

Man if we could pair up Nate with Roy again, On NY that is...LOL *Day dreams*

[Fat Kat]

Can we officially say now that Nate >>>> Magic Johnson?

Yep. A quicker, more explosive Magic Johnson. How many dunk contest did Magic win?

Seriously, Nate has made me a believer. He still drives me crazy with his antics, but you can't argue that the man is a baller.
Let him loose and he can bring a lot of what AI brings to a game. I'm waiting to see how good his decision making is when he starts to get double teamed consistantly. That'll be the true test.