CHICAGO — For Nate Robinson, the ship may be sinking, and his dispute with Mike D’Antoni may be coming to a head.
D’Antoni’s war with Robinson deepened yesterday when the Knicks coach made his strongest statement yet on how far Robinson is buried.
Though backup guard Larry Hughes could miss tonight’s game in Chicago because of a strained left groin, and the Knicks are coming off a heartbreaking 94-87 loss to Charlotte that snapped their four-game winning streak, D’Antoni said he hasn’t given a thought to turning back to Robinson.
D’Antoni’s remark infuriated the Robinson camp, which has been patient in not asking for a trade. Agent Eric Goodwin firmly declined comment. However, it is expected if Hughes doesn’t play and Robinson still sits, his representatives will spring into action. Last season, Stephon Marbury consulted with the Players’ Association during his banishment.
“I’m just not going down there,” D’Antoni said after practice at Moody Bible Institute. “It takes a while for the ship to turn in the ocean. It takes a while to turn back. It’s going to be a slow process. We’ll keep reevaluating.”
Hughes, who committed six turnovers in Tuesday’s loss, allowed the possibility of missing tonight and tomorrow vs. the Clippers.
“I’ll try to block it out, but we’ll see if the schedule is a good time to rest it a couple of days to get it 100 percent,” Hughes said.
Robinson hasn’t played in six straight games and D’Antoni said he feels the team is better off defensively. The Post reported the final straw came in Orlando two weeks ago when D’Antoni saw Robinson yukking it up with Dwight Howard before the game, leading to his first benching. D’Antoni said rookie Toney Douglas was the catalyst to “Nate-Gate,” though Douglas also hasn’t played in the last two games. With Hughes out, Douglas would return to the rotation.
In the aftermath of the breakdown vs. the Bobcats, the Knicks disputed Stephen Jackson’s postgame diss that Charlotte is the better club and playoff-bound while the Knicks are not.
The Knicks’ defiance in the wake of their late-fourth-quarter collapse indicates how far their self-esteem has improved in going 7-7 after a franchise-worst 1-9 start.
Even Al Harrington, Jackson’s friend, wasn’t willing to let the boast lie.
“I don’t think it’s disrespectful, but I think we’re better,” Harrington said. “We gave them that game. I know if I was healthy, it could’ve been a different game. They’re not better than us.”
Playing with a severe stomach flu, Harrington scored just 11 points in the crushing loss.
Jackson, perhaps bitter the Knicks did not attempt to trade for him, said after the game, “We feel like we’re better than them. We feel we’re a playoff team.”