Half Nelson

I pride myself in being an NBA fan, not just a Nets fan. That’s why basketball message boards are sometimes even scarier than Madonna’s upper arms. It’s full of people typing so-called statements in capital letters, such as: “trade VC for Wally!” or “omgz the Raptors will win it all this year!1!1!!” Whatever they need to convince themselves, I suppose. I digress (as usual). My point is that I enjoy watching the up-tempo style of the Knicks as much as I like watching the complete basketball game played by the Spurs. Sometimes there’s an exciting game on and suddenly you remember why you’re a fan in the first place. For all those dreadful games where both teams shoot a combined 40% from the field, for all those 48-minute games that last 2,5 hours because the refs blow their whistle on every damn play, there’s a moment in the season which makes you stand up and cheer out loud in front of your television at 4 in the morning (remember, I’m Dutch, games which are aired at 10 pm ET in the U.S. – add six hours and you know at what time I’m watching it).

May 2007 made me feel what I just described. And I think over 90% of all basketball fans felt the same. The remaining 10% either lived in Texas or Germany. The Warriors were an overachieving crew from a state that’s untouchable like Elliot Ness, and it hit the Dallas Mavericks like slug to your chest. Rumors are that Avery Johnson still has trouble sleeping for more than fours hours a night, and while Dirk is still Dirk, the best shooting big man in the League, he will always be linked with the ultimate collapse during that playoff series, with Captain Jack giving him fits. The head coach of Golden State was the likeable and immensely successful coach Don Nelson. A man living by his own rules, whether they’re right or wrong, and never one to shy away from an interesting quote to amuse whoever is willing to hear it. But his status as the Oakland’s cuddly (intoxicated) teddy bear has worn off this season. To me, it almost looks like he doesn’t have the passion or the energy to do what he has to do seven months a year. The media always bashes on players when it looks like they aren’t caring anymore. You’ve got to play with a lot of heart and effort to win in the NBA, but the same rule applies for coaches. You can’t motivate your team when you have problems motivating yourself. You can’t do that job half-assed. Players expect their coaches to lead, to get a T when necessary to instigate some sort of fire, to come up with solutions in troubled times. That doesn’t mean I want to see coaches to stand along the sideline for the whole game, wild gesturing when someone messed up, screaming at everything that moves (I’m looking at you Vinny Del Negro), but at least don’t start off the season by saying that you don’t expect to make the playoffs. True, Monta Ellis was out, and Baron Davis has moved onto the Clippers, but it’s not like the Warriors had such a bad team and would be unable to steal some games during the season. Their roster has a lot of flaws, but also some tools to work with. How you handle those tools as a coach, that’s the main challenge, that’s why you make five million to figure it out.

Early in the season Don Nelson said he identified “one of my weaknesses”, meaning implementing some sort of defensive scheme into the Warriors plans, and let his assistant coaches Keith Smart and Sidney Moncrief handle that assignment during the course of the season. All great coaches in this League have (or had) great assistants who help them out when it comes to defense (Tom Thibodeau with Doc Rivers) or offense (Tex Winter advised Phil Jackson for years), that’s the way it works. “I’m not as tough anymore” was cited as reason of Nelson’s defensive liabilities as a coach, because he was “getting soft” as he got older. If that is his actual reason, could it actually be that that Nelson has lost some of his desire to lead this young Warriors bunch through a long 82-game schedule? Is it me or do we see Nellie walking less and less along the sidelines, hands on his hips, beer belly angrily aimed at a referee who just happened to make a call that the Don didn’t like? Why is it that Al Harrington was unhappy and not playing well with the run-and-gun style Warriors, but after being traded he has scored thirty or more points for the run-and-gun style New York Knicks multiple times? Why is it that Mike Dunleavy jr. turned out to be a very effective small forward after he was traded to the Pacers? We can blame it on a team’s system, but what that really the case? Why is it that early in the season when Brendan Wright was starting, and it was obvious to the world that they needed this guy’s length and athleticism next to Andris Biedrins, was reduced to a limited role for no apparent reason? Why is Anthony Randolph unhappy? The rookie from Louisiana State was supposed to be one of the most talented players in the Draft, but apparently he’s on a short leash, because rumors are that Nelson wanted Jason Thompson, but Chris Mullin still picked Randolph. We still can’t decide whether that’s right or wrong, because the guy hardly plays. Does the kid really have attitude or adjustment problems? Or is Nellie being childish in managing this situation? It’s not the first time that for a first-year player it’s Nelson’s way or the highway (remember Chris Webber?).

I’m still indifferent whether Don Nelson has lacked the skills to develop young players, or whether he’s better at it than I give him credit for? After all, there a lot of D-League guys who flourish in his system, and let’s not forget about rebounding machine Andris Biedrins. But realistically speaking: Biedrins is also a product of the system. That’s not a knock against his talent, but more often than not he plays with four shooting guards who are trigger-happy from every range imaginable. And since he’s the only dude in a Warriors jersey on the court over 6’7 most of the time, of course he’s going to get some boards.

The Warriors might regret signing Maggette to a 50 million dollar contract, they might regret not having their bearded point guard with more handles than your underground subway, but it’s not about making more deals. While too many coaches have been fired early into the season, for the Warriors’ sake the best thing that can happen to the team is that Don Nelson resigns this summer and leaves the organization. In a time where all we talk about is “change”, I wonder what Eddie Jordan can do with this team. But it’s not up to me, it’s Nellie’s world; he decides, he makes the rules.