The early-season reports are out, and the book on Nate Robinson has changed, well, very little. Still wildly inconsistent. Still likely to take shots that would leave a young White Chocolate speechless. Still liable to disappear for games at a time, or to shoot 2-15 against the Orlando Magic on Christmas day, or to make you wonder whether the Celtics would be better off with Doc Rivers (or maybe even Jo-Jo White) as a player-coach.

As Rich Levine noted, Robinson was supposed to be different this year. With a training camp under his belt and better knowledge of Boston’s system, Robinson was supposed to provide a spark off the bench — if not every single night, than at least most nights. After all, he’s still only two years removed from averaging 17.2 points per game. And though that was in New York, where Robinson was free to fire like Tony Montana, anybody who averages 17.2 points per game in the NBA can score, and score in bunches. But in Boston, Robinson doesn’t find scoring so easy. At least not every game.

Instead, Robinson is Boston’s version of Sex Panther Cologne. 60% of the time, he plays well every time. Actually, with Robinson it’s probably more like 40% or 30%, he plays well every time.

Robinson’s game logs are as close as game logs get to a roller coaster. He scored 15 points one night in a win against Toronto. Followed that with a doughnut against Chicago. Scored 16 points in a win against Sacramento. Followed with 1-6 shooting against Charlotte, and only five points.

Lately, the Robinson roller coaster’s been on a dip. For most people roller coaster dips are fun, or at least exhilarating. But I’m the type of person who can’t sit in the Garden’s upper deck without wanting to piss my pants, so roller coasters not only make me nauseas but also make me want to cry (and also leave a dump in my pants).

Robinson played fourteen games in November, shooting 50.0% from the field and 43.9% from the arc. Played 14 games in December, shooting 41.5% from the field and 37.1% from the arc. Has played ten games in January, shooting 35.0% from the field and 28.6% from the arc. Oh yeah, and in his last three games, Robinson has shot 4-19 from the field and 1-10 from the arc. The roller coaster is in the midst of falling off the tracks, and those riding the roller coaster are falling to a near-certain death.

The Celtics have tried everything. Didn’t think Robinson could handle point guard? Doc Rivers let Marquis Daniels share ball-handling duties. Maybe he’s not built for coming off the bench? Robinson started 11 games in Rajon Rondo’s absence. The “Robinson as starter” era even began well, but fell apart more quickly than I could say, “Get better soon, Rajon.” Maybe Robinson needs two things — a starting position and Delonte West’s health. During the two games Robinson started and West played, Robinson posted (arguably) his two best games this season: 22 points (on 8-14 shooting) against Toronto, and 16 points (on 6-9 shooting) to go along with 10 assists against Atlanta.

Oddly enough, Robinson’s presence seems to help the Celtics defensively. The two best Celtics defensive lineups (including the league’s best defensive lineup) both feature Robinson instead of Rondo (who just happened to make First Team All-Defense last season). I was pretty sure Lawrence Frank would win the NBA’s MVP award before Robinson would be part of the league’s stingiest defense, but I digress.

The Diminutive Dunker has bought into the system, for the most part, and his defensive efforts are vastly improved since last season. Now, he just needs to hop off the roller coaster. Maybe he should improve his shot selection, which left one unnamed reporter, in the press section at Wednesday’s Celtics game, cursing under his breath. (And no, it actually wasn’t me.) Maybe Robinson needs West to return. Maybe he needs to stop thinking so much on the court, and just let things flow. Maybe he needs to hit the gym and shoot a few hundred jumpers. Maybe he just needs a new pair of shoes. In my NBA Jam voice: Is it the shoes?

Like water through a drain, Robinson’s shooting numbers are going down, down down. Like a needle in my vein, they’re bringing me down, down, down. Like a dog who’s gone insane, they’re putting me down, down down.

Hopefully, those of us who doubt Robinson are going down, down down.

And for those of you wondering: No, I never thought I’d paraphrase a song from Get Him to the Greek to describe Nate Robinson’s shooting woes.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

When you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Coach Doc Rivers said he didn’t know whether O’Neal would ultimately require surgery. ‘I’m concerned,’ Rivers said. ‘I think he’s gone two weeks and a practice and his knee swells up. First of all, it has to be extremely frustrating for him. He worked his butt off to get back and he was playing well. Secondly, we all have common sense. That’s a concern, ‘Why is this happening?’ And so we have to figure that out.’ Having shut down O’Neal once already, Rivers didn’t seem as though he wanted to do it again. ‘We’ve done that and we thought we were good, and it happened again,’ Rivers said. ‘I don’t know. I don’t have any answers. I just know this has to be frustrating.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “For better or worse, the Celtics need Jermaine O’Neal to be functioning this spring. If his knee injury is going to be a constant concern, then that is a very big deal for the Celtics because they still don’t know what Kendrick Perkins will be able to give them when he comes back and Shaquille O’Neal’s play has tapered off dramatically since late December. Rivers had a plan for the O’Neals, but it has already been blown up and modified as the injuries have mounted and lingered. ‘We had a strategy going into the year with Jermaine and Shaq, but we didn’t account for the other guys going down,’ Rivers said. ‘That’s where it kind of got a little dicey and still is.’ The Celtics need three centers for the playoffs and for the time being they have two. Both of whom, it should be pointed out, have their own injuries. That’s their biggest concern right now. Not Garnett.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “There’s a good chance, according to Rivers, that Kevin Garnett may not see action until Monday, when the Orlando Magic visit. Though Garnett has required more time than expected to recover from a strained right calf, Rivers insisted that unlike the forward’s knee trouble two years ago, there is not more to this than the team is letting on. ‘It’s no conspiracy,’ Rivers said. ‘He’s just taking a little longer than we wanted him to. No one has told me to worry about it. (Trainer) Eddie (Lacerte) has been really nonchalant about (whether this is going to be) a season-long injury problem. He’s dealing with it like Kevin. But with Kevin, he’s so emotional that you want to make sure he doesn’t get down about stuff. That’s where I’m always concerned with him — starting this why-is-this- happening-to-me stuff, you don’t want him to go there. It’s not a bad injury, but he doesn’t like missing games. I think his goal was to play all 82. The fact that isn’t going to happen (ticks) him off. It’s just who he is. That’s a good thing in the long run.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘We didn’t come out with the same energy [Monday] as we did tonight,’ said Marquis Daniels, who scored 12 points off the bench. ‘We’ve just got to find a way to do it every night regardless of who we’re playing. We’ve just got to come in, get back in transition, and rebound the basketball. We’ve been getting killed on the boards, so that’s something we’ve got to focus on. It’s always another notch we can go to. We’ve just got to pick each other up, regardless of if it’s the starters or the second string. We’ve just got to be tuned in and play a full 48-minute game. … Rivers needed to see his players respond to his call for more energy, and they did. ‘We just wanted to put pressure on them, making sure that we were the instigators,’ Davis said. ‘It means a lot. It helps the team out in so many ways just to do things harder. It helps on the offense and defensive side. It sets a standard. That’s what we need to do.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘I thought we played well in the first half in two ways. I thought we had an amazing pace with Rondo and Nate,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We were pushing the ball up the floor. We missed I don’t know how many point-blank layups and open shots. So I told them, don’t worry about the offense.’ The defense, without Garnett, is a going concern, as evidenced by Sacramento’s ability to shoot 51.4 percent, including a marauding paint performance by power forward Carl Landry, who scored seven of his 17 points from the line. But the bench ultimately made it possible for the starters to take a fourth-quarter seat. After the recent grind of seven games in 10 days, the break was badly needed. ‘I saw Paul icing early, Ray (Allen) is icing early, Rondo,’ said Daniels. ‘It’s always a good thing to see those guys icing early. We are going to need those guys down the line.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Boston’s strong performance was fueled by Pierce’s ability to make the most of his matchup with Sacramento’s Franciso Garcia. Celtics coach Doc Rivers attributes Pierce’s strong play, as well as the solid performance by the entire Celtics roster, to a spirited practice on Tuesday. ‘[Tuesday] in practice after showing them the film, we practiced hard,’ Rivers said. ‘And the cuts were hard. And you could see it. And you were just hoping there would be a carryover today and there was.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “What does Rivers miss most about Garnett when he’s not on the floor? His ability to quarterback the defense. ‘You can get somebody to provide energy — Luke [Harangody] plays with a lot of energy. What we miss is his voice. Kevin is the best talker on defense in the NBA, maybe in the history of the NBA. It doesn’t matter what you do. Watching our transition defense the last two games, and how awful we were, it’s clear what was missing — that guy running down the middle of the floor pointing at everyone to ‘Get over there,’ or ‘Go over there.’ We just don’t have a guy like that and you can’t replace that.’”

Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “The bench was able to stay in control in the final quarter, allowing the starters to rest. ‘They tease us about that all the time,’ Robinson said. ‘They tease the bench. They say, come on now, we don’t want to play the rest of the fourth, so we can get a little bit of rest. The bench, we try to go in every night and bring energy and play hard, take some of the slack off the starting five, because they do a tremendous job every night. The bench, we’ve got to be there, not just [last night] but every night. I think that if we continue to do that I think we’ll be a hell of a team.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “More than the points, it was Erden’s energy that Celtics coach Doc Rivers was pleased with seeing. ‘He was great,’ Rivers said. ‘You know, we needed his energy.’ But as Erden’s minutes played steadily increased – he played 33 minutes on Wednesday after playing just 31 in the previous 12 games combined – it was clear that he was, well, how did Doc put it? . . . ‘He ran out of gas,’ Rivers said. ‘There’s no doubt about that.’ But you won’t find Rivers complaining about his contributions, especially with the uncertain status of O’Neal who continues to have left knee issues. Rivers said the knee had swollen up earlier in the day, but he did not know until about an hour before tip-off that O’Neal could not play. ‘[Erden] was ready, which is the most important thing, and the other thing – it’s tough for him, because he didn’t know [he would play],’ Rivers said. ‘Hell, I didn’t know. So it’s a good job by him, especially a young player. Because most young players, they would think, ‘I’m not playing today’ and not come with the right mental approach.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “That’s exactly what Rivers wanted to see from his rookie — the 60th and final pick in the 2008 draft — and said as much before the game. ‘Energy,’ Rivers answered when asked what Erden’s game had lacked thus far. ‘He’s a good player, a young player. What he’s learning from us is that there’s a level of intensity that you have to play with on every possession, every night. He’s going to make mistakes, I don’t care about when young guys make mistakes. I care more about focus.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

Doc Rivers plans to move Nate Robinson off the ball. Marquis Daniels, once he recovers from illness, will handle more ball handling duties. (Boston Globe)

“I wanted Nate to play more,’’ Rivers said. “I thought Nate struggled a little bit. But you can see him getting even more comfortable. Our plan for Marquis to handle the ball more kind of went out the window when [trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] before the game told me he wasn’t feeling well. So we put the ball back in Nate’s hands. That was not our intention.’’

I wrote a piece about the switcheroo for CelticsBlog. Read it here.

Nate Robinson, who received six stitches last night after getting accidentally Zinedine Zidane’d by Mike Dunleavy, should play tonight against the Detroit Pistons. Methinks Robinson could have returned to last night’s game, but Marquis Daniels was in video game god mode. (Boston Herald)

Robinson’s eye was swollen afterward from the numbing agent. He plans to play tonight against the Detroit Pistons, however.

“I don’t remember what happened,” Robinson, who finished with eight points and four assists, said. “I just remember the blood and running to the back.

“I’m tough. It ain’t like I never had stitches before. It’s nothing. I guess I get a little bit of sympathy from the ladies, so I’m good. I’m good.”

Robinson also noted that he felt sick during the game, and “almost pulled a Willie Beamen.” After shooting 2-15 against the Orlando Magic, I would feel sick too.

In other injury news, Rajon Rondo participated in certain live portions of the Celtics’ practice Monday. Still, Doc Rivers “pretty much ruled out a return tonight against the Pistons,” according to the Boston Herald. Most likely, his return will come Friday against CP3 and the New Orleans Hornets.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “With Rondo out with a sprained left ankle injury, Robinson has been a starter who has tried to balance what he does best — shooting the ball — with running the team. ‘It’s challenging, but at the same time, I’ve watched Rondo and how he handles it,’ Robinson told CSNNE.com when asked about directing the Celtics offensively. ‘He does a great job at it. Those are big shoes to fill.’ … ‘We want Nate to play to his strengths,’ said Pierce, who at times demands the ball from Robinson to initiate offensive sets. ‘That’s where he gives the most value to this team. We want him to be a scorer, a guy who can be electric shooting the ball. That’s what we need from him.’ Which is why none of the Celtics were bothered by his 2-for-15 shooting performance against the Magic. ‘Nate missed some shots he usually hits,’ Garnett said. ‘We had some breakdowns at times. It happens, man.’ And while some players may become gun-shy after struggling, don’t count Robinson among them. ‘You just have to be ready to play,’ Robinson said. ‘That’s something that Isiah Thomas used to tell me. No matter what, you don’t know how many minutes you’ll play or when you’ll play. As long as you bring your energy, they can’t take anything away from you. That’s your greatest asset to the game.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “In the past few weeks, Robinson’s gone from understudy to playing one of the more important roles in the offense, and he’s handled the change so well that it’s easy to overlook how difficult the task really is. Not only is he replacing Rondo. He’s essentially the Celtics’ only option at the point besides rookie Avery Bradley. At the same time, being a starter is relatively new territory for Robinson. In his career, he’s started just 68 games. Since his rookie season in 2005-06, when he started 26 times for the Knicks, Robinson never has started more than 17 games in a season. He’s started eight for the Celtics already, and with Rondo out for the foreseeable future resting the left ankle he sprained in New York Dec. 15, he’ll have to continue to adjust. The shots Robinson is used to seeing, when he would burn teams for going under screens because they had prepared so much for Rondo, aren’t there as often anymore. ‘You notice when Rondo was playing, Nate came in and he always got the early threes, the early shots,’ Rivers said. ‘But now teams are starting to gameplan for that.’ ‘He just has to get used to maybe playing a lot of minutes,’ said forward Paul Pierce. ‘We don’t know when Rondo is going to come back. He’s definitely filling in Rondo’s role, and it’s a different game when you start than coming off the bench. He has to have a different type of mentality at the start, and I try to tell him, you can’t ease into these games. When you’re starting the game, you have to have it from the start.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “But there is something else to take away from the game that could well make the defeat — ugly though it was — seem insignificant when push comes to playoffs. The lingering image here of Saturday afternoon was Kevin Garnett calling for the ball and willingly going into physical battle inside with Dwight Howard and Dwight Howard’s biceps. The more recent model KG has shied away from such confrontations, but he was different when he showed up this season. Christmas Day was just the latest giant step, and, for the Celtics, it was a gift that could give them so much more. Garnett made 10-of-14 shots on the way to 22 points against the Magic. He had four steals. He was the only Celt to shoot 50 percent or better; the rest of the lads were a combined 18-for-67 (26.9 percent). ‘His body’s feeling better,’ Ray Allen said. ‘He’s getting back to using power, and he has that confidence in going straight ahead. We’ve been going to him even more in the last month. I’d imagine he’s feeling better, but there’s a responsibility that comes with that. He’s getting his body prepared and he does everything he can to keep his muscles strong and keep his mind right.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “In five losses this season, the Celtics’ average margin of defeat is a mere 4.8 points. Boston is giving itself a chance to win every game thanks in large part to avoiding large deficits. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Celtics’ largest deficit in any game this season was 14 points (during an 89-87 loss to Dallas on Nov. 8). The only other NBA team that hasn’t trailed by as many as 15 points this season is the Mavericks (Dallas trailed the Nuggets by a season-high 13 points in a 103-92 loss).”

Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel – [Editor's note: It took 15 seconds before Dwight Howard was penalized for a 10-second violation. I agree with 0% of this piece, and may God have mercy on Brian Schmitz's soul.] “This is all Dwight Howard needs: Something else to think about when he’s shooting free throws. Everybody has given Howard home remedies and suggestions to help him cure his ills at the line. Now it’s his best friends — the refs. They insist he hurry it up, pressuring him by conducting a silent countdown. A little-known NBA rule states a player has 10 seconds to shoot a free throw once he receives the ball. Officials enforced the statue against Howard on Saturday when the Magic faced the Boston Celtics. Referee Bob Delaney said Howard took too long and wiped out the attempt. Frankly, if anybody should have been penalized for slow play, it ought to have been Shaquille O’Neal. Did you see how long it took Shaq to get up and down the floor? Howard leans toward conspiracies. Now I don’t think the NBA is out to get him. But I do wonder how many other superstars would be put on a clock during a national TV holiday game, and that’s what irks Howard. I timed two of LeBron James’ attempts when he toed the line in the fourth quarter against the Lakers on Saturday (thanks to DVR). LeBron held the ball on his hip, spun it, bounced it, recited the Gettysburg Address and then slowly released the shot….in 11 seconds by my clock. Another shot took about 12 seconds. No call. I’m just sayin.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “The Boston Celtics closed out practice Tuesday doing five-on-five half-court work and, on the final play, the green-clad starters cranked up their intensity a few notches and created a defensive stand that left the white-clad reserves, who had been competitive to that point, paralyzed offensively. ‘The first unit knows that, whenever they want to, if they up their pressure, they can take the second unit out of anything they want to run,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said later. And therein lay one of Boston’s secrets to success during its low-on-style-points 14-game winning streak — ramp up the defensive intensity late to salt away the win. Half of the 14 victories were decided by single digits, with the Celtics’ opponent often hanging around for 3½ quarters before the Boston starters clamped down defensively. But on Saturday, that formula fell apart as Boston’s defense couldn’t get it done, and instead the Orlando Magic tightened up, helping the home team snap Boston’s winning streak with an 86-78 triumph at the Amway Center.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

What follows is a testament to the internet age.

Think about fifteen years ago. If Nate Robinson had attempted to jump on Paul Pierce’s back and instead fallen flat on his face, we would have seen it three times. Once, live. Once, in replay on the live telecast. Then maybe again on SportsCenter, if we were lucky.

Now, everything’s better. We can DVR the fall, and rewind our TV, and then rewind it again (and again, and again). Or we can go to Twitter, and almost certainly find a TwitVid of the play. Or we can just take our asses to YouTube and watch the fall over and over, and even immortalize it by spoofing old Michael Jordan commercials.

The possibilities are now endless. And the fall, no matter how many times I watch it, remains spectacular.

(h/t Ball Don’t Lie)