Nate Robinson Gets Knocked Around by LeBron James, Leaves Game

Nate Robinson has had himself a rough time in the playoffs so far. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he took a hit from LeBron James that smashed his head into the ground and produced some blood in the process, keeping him out of the game for a bit.

Robinson dove for a loose ball late in the second quarter, with LeBron diving soon thereafter. The result was all of LeBron's 60-pound advantage slamming onto Robinson, a good hunk of it driving Robinson's face into the court.

If you recall, Robinson was one of the Bulls with the flu in the final two games against the Brooklyn Nets late in the first round, and he had his head stepped on by Gerald Wallace in Game 7.

By the time these playoffs end, Robinson is going to be full of more holes than a brick of Swiss cheese, yet he'll probably keep playing.

"

Is that the medical term? RT @joegoodmanjr: Nate Robinson (jacked up grill) is coming back for the second half.

— SBNation NBA (@SBNationNBA) May 7, 2013"

"

People, you need to stop falling on Nate Robinson, kicking him in the head, etc.

— InsideHoops.com (@InsideHoops) May 7, 2013"

"

Good God. Nate Robinson is not going to survive these playoffs. He's like Gibson in "Payback" at this point.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 7, 2013"

After coming back for the third quarter, Nate went ahead and scored 13 points while his upper lip throbbed.

Robinson has really taken his toughness to another level in the past few weeks, diving for loose balls along with hitting ridiculous three-pointers.

He's definitely playing himself into a solid contract when he becomes a free agent this summer.