Jeez . I have no idea why Nelson (FDB) is going off the deep end. The Warriors traded their vets and still have one of the youngest teams in the NBA, so what do you expect? And the team has had more than their share of injuries. Maybe Radmanovic has become the new Zarko. Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle: "Warriors coach Don Nelson put on his Grinch costume before Wednesday's game against New Orleans, taking shots at just about any player discussed. Watching his team lose 10 of its last 11 games will do that to anyone, even around the holidays. 'It's felt like desperation for a long time,' Nelson said. [...] Vladimir Radmanovic(notes) was called a 'total zero on offense,' and Nelson pleaded with the forward to find a way to contribute a modest nine or 10 points a game. 'Now, he's reluctant to shoot,' Nelson said. 'If he's in a slump, I understand that he would be a little more conservative, but he can't go through a game and never look for his shot. He's trying to do other things, and I respect him for that, but we can't have a player be a total zero on offense.'" http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/24/SPG71B8VQ0.DTL
Well, he's right about Rad Man and he's right about Morrow. He should add CJ Watson to the list as a horrible defender. That guy just can't stay in front of anyone. Morrow's defense is perfect for this team...it's nothing.
Usually, Nelson focuses on the match ups for offense. If you're mismatched against your defender, then wouldn't your defense be horrible, too? This is what Tom Tolbert said. He played for Nelson. It's a simple explanation, and the defense is more complex than that, but it explains most of it .
Nellie's match-ups are crap. There's no excuse for putting Maggette in at center, or playing three point guards (Ellis, Watson, Curry) all together with a SG as your PF and a PF as your C. That's just gimmicky. There is absolutely no excuse for not playing Chris Hunter last night. DNP? Right now, he's the best big man on the team, IMO. Solid, defender, shot blocker, good jump shooter, and doesn't try to do anything cute. He's also a real center, the only center on this team right now. Watching Maggette try to deal with David West is laughable. Nelson should be ashamed of that. Watching Radmonovic play center with 4 guards is just plain sad. Yes, it was a close game, and guys like Maggette had real good stats. But in the end, it doesn't matter if everyone on the team scores 20, if you still lose. Right now, GS is ranked as the worst rebounding team in the league, at 37.03 per game. Last night, they got 38, and NO got 52. And anyone who watched that game saw that it was all inside putbacks and easy dunks for NO. Again, watching 4 guards and a PF trying to defend Julian Wright, Emeka Okefor, David West and even Darius Songaila -- it was just laughable. I mean, CJ Watson was trying to guard Peja Stojkovic!!! Now, GS will get steals like that, and will get out and run, and it looks kind of flashy. And, thanks to insane shooting in the first half, the Warriors kept it pretty close, for a while. But that's all they will ever do with a weak, soft gimmicky line-up like Nellie's. They are pudding in the middle and about the only matchup on the floor that made any sense last night was whoever matched up with Chris Paul -- except he's their best player! Not only are they ranked dead last in rebounding, GS is also ranked dead last in defense. They are giving up a stomach-churning 111.78 points per game -- that has to be on pace for a historical record. And the next closest teams are all 5 or six points below that. They are in a league all by themselves -- one of the worst defensive teams in the history of pro sports. Even a team like Philly, ranked 21st in the league in offense at around 97 ppg -- they get a hold of GS and they get their friggin groove on, dropping 117 in a blowout. OR Washington, ranked 17th at 99 ppg -- they get their jollies off on GS with a 118 point ass-whoopin. Everyone gets right against the Warriors. It's a great time out when you get to come play GS. The way GS gets a lot of steals, it's gimmicky too. The guards hang the big men out to dry by overplaying on 1/2 of the passes that are thrown. CJ Watson will jump out on a steal attempt at ball fakes. The dude is constantly trying to look like he's active, but really it's to mask his serious on-ball deficiencies. He can't body up anyone. He can't stay in front of anyone. He's fast, but has poor footwork and no center of balance. On defense, he's a mirage. An impostor. Do you want to know why Nellie has so many wins -- he's been coaching 33 years!! His career win percentage of 56.7% is far below the great coaches like Red Auerbach (66%), Greg Popvic (67%), Pat Riley (70%) and Phil Jackson (73.8%). Granted, they had hall-of-fame players, but over a 30 year span, the proof is in the pudding. You don't need Tim Duncan to be above .500. Nellie has had plenty of awfully talented teams, and he doesn't have a great win percentage to show for it. Of course, when you're putting Maggette on David West, it's pretty obvious why you don't have a good winning percentage. I don't care how fast you can run -- you can't outrun the tried and true methods of winning basketball. You need an inside outside game, and you need defense. Nellie's little linueps with 3 point guards are cute -- but cute is for Hello Kitty. Chris Hunter -- even though he's a D-League scrub -- should be starting and playing 30 minutes a game right now -- because you NEED a big man and that's all we have. That's the only way you're going to stand a chance. Yes, I'd rather have Beans, or Bosh, or Okeafor, or whoever... But we have Chris Hunter, and he needs to play Center. Otherwise, you are going to get embarrassed, and every new guy in the league will get right and have a career night against the Golden State Waffles.
So you think that Chris Hunter wouldn't have gotten eaten up all game long? Right now, I don't care who was coaching this team, they'd be stuck. Actually, Nelly and his gimmicks are best suited for random matchups. although, it helps when he has a bag of tricks (or a healthy bench). Nelly is a good coach. He's taken teams who had no business being anywhere near the playoffs past the 1st round a number of times. That's why he has so many wins. As for this season, I have a little different take on what's going on. Perhaps you're missing the point of these games. The front office should want to move non-essential players and bad contracts before the trade deadline (CJ and Magette). Getting guys their minutes and points help that. There'll be over half of the season to develop the rest of the guys. That probably wasn't the plan going into the season, but Wright, Buike, Turiaf, Biedrins go down, then you don't rush them back. You let the other guys get their stats, and hope to move them, then finish the season with the other guys, hoping that they can develop some chemistry going into the off-season. This team wasn't built to win games. The front office needs to be called out for that. Unfortunately, the injuries work as an excuse year in and year out. Hopefully, they move Magette, and Cohan Sells, then a new front office comes in and wipes the slate clean...That's what I really want for Christmas.
Nelson is not a good coach without the right players and he's to blame on getting rid of our most promising players starting with Baron. I've said it before, you go to one playoffs with Nelson and then the team falls apart. You have to admit Nelson does not get along with his players. After one successful season, they have had enough. Is it his personality? coaching? bad breath? bo? I think it's his fraud db-ism and that is why Nelson has to go. Finally, we agree . The only problem is Nelson and Maggette get along for whatever reason.
You continue to think Nellie was the one who decided to veto Baron's extension. It was documented that it was Rowell. Why you continue to press this issue is negligence and manipulative. No one but yourself is buying it. I'm not defending Nellie, but merely stating a fact.
Nelson didn't veto Baron's extension, but I was thinking he had that fight with Baron after the Clippers game. I did not hear Nelson coming out and siding with Baron on the extension. Strangely, Nelson was silent on such a key player while we know Mullin was for the deal. Conversely, look at what happened when Ellis got into hot water with Rowell about the moped accident. Both Nelson and Mullin came out on Ellis' side after he was punished with a suspension. They did not want to see Rowell void his contract.
It still doesn't make sense. As you would say, Nelson prefers having a veteran team with veteran leaders. Baron was a key component to Nelson's success here. Why would he, acting exclusively as coach, want Baron gone? He even said it would be a big blow, and it was. Nelson and Baron shared a cigar before he left. Just because a player and coach don't see eye to eye on a game to game basis, doesn't mean the coach wants the player gone. And, I don't think it was the Clippers game. It was the game against the Suns, I think, when it was Baron's bday the day before and supposedly he went out drinking and got trashed. Consequently, he had one of his worst games as a Warrior on a pivotal game. If I was coach, I'd be pissed.
