Nate Robinson defensive about getting settled

WALTHAM - As a former football player, Nate Robinson is accustomed to learning extensive playbooks. But what has greeted the recently acquired guard in his first week with the Celtics [team stats] has been a lot to digest.

“I’m just trying to figure out this defensive playbook that’s pretty crazy,” Robinson said after completing his second full practice with the C’s. “The offense is going to come easy, guys are helping me out with the spots. But they’re helping me out a lot on defense. That’s the main thing that I’m focused on right now.”

Robinson learned plenty about defense when he started at cornerback for the University of Washington as a freshman. But he dropped football as a sophomore to focus solely on basketball, presumably leaving the days of major playbook cramming behind.

That was the case until he was traded, along with Marcus Landry, from the Knicks to the Celtics on Feb. 18. With his new team, Robinson has received a crash course in assistant coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive schemes.

“For me and Marcus, everything is coming at us fast,” Robinson said. “It’s kind of like baseball. They put you out there and they say to hit a 100-mph fastball. It’s like, ‘How do I do that?’ You just have to keep playing and keep working.”

Robinson’s comfort level at the other end already is rising. He scored 13 points off the bench in the C’s 104-96 loss to the Nets on Saturday.

“His role is going to be good. It’s just going to take time,” Celts coach Doc Rivers said. “I said when we made the trade, that position is the most difficult one.”

To make the adjustment easier, Rivers installed a few sets that Robinson ran in New York.

“I got to teach the couple sets that we ran in New York to make it easy for me to transition. They liked the offense that we showed them and we’re trying to run with it,” Robinson said. “I know when I’m in I’m going to be calling that play 99.9 percent of the time. I’m going to be real comfortable with that. I’m just trying to learn their plays and the defense. That’s the main thing.”