<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Don Nelson is making sweeping changes to the Golden State Warriors, yet the coach's grand scheme begins with simple free throws.Nelson will demand better free-throw shooting from his players when he opens training camp Tuesday in his second stint with the moribund club. And he won't be afraid to bench stars Jason Richardson and Baron Davis if they can't provide it..."The biggest problem they had in not winning games is their free-throw shooting," Nelson said Thursday in an interview at the Warriors' training complex. "You're never going to be much of a team if you don't make your free throws."Unfortunately, two of my best players don't shoot the free throw (well): Jason Richardson and Baron Davis. There's no reason that they don't. ... The onus is going to be on the player, for sure, to make his free throws. You're not in the game (if) you don't make your free throws."</div>It's true. The Warriors were 26th in FT% last year. They need help in that area. He also had something to say about their decision making:<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Nelson sees a confused team in those tapes -- defensively disorganized and offensively undisciplined. The Warriors launched 22.3 3-pointers per game, more than any team except the Phoenix Suns..."It's their decision-making that's my biggest concern," he said. "If these players think we're going to launch as many 3's as they did last year, they're mistaken. We're going to shoot (fewer). We're going to be penetrating more, passing more. We're not just going to be shooting 3's at every opportunity."</div>Nelson is a really good coach. I believe he can turn that team into a winning team eventually. I just don't expect that to happen now. I mean, look at the West right now. There is only really 2 teams that are out of the question to make the playoffs right now. (Sonics, and Blazers).
Good thing Nelson is going to force J-Rich and Baron get better at the charity stripe.Jason Richardson- .673%Baron Davis- .675%
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>One of the most impressive performances in training camp thus far took place late on Thursday, when Mike Dunleavy stepped to the free throw line. Dunleavy, as with all 18 players on the roster, must shoot 100 free throws at the end of every practice. Each player is required to pair up with a teammate and chart the other's progress in increments of 10 (10 x 10). Last season, Mike D. shot a respectable 78% from the charity stripe. On this night, however, he nailed a perfect 100%. Yes, he actually made 100 out of 100 free throws, enough to put a smile on the face of Hal Wissel, who was hired by Coach Nelson to help address the team's free throw problems. As an indication of some of the success enjoyed in camp to date, many players have shot the ball well from the line, including Troy Murphy (98% tonight), Dajuan Wagner (93% tonight), Adonal Foyle (90% tonight) and Andris Biedrins (85% tonight). Wissel indicates that most players will shoot about 10% better in practice then in a game situation. So, we'll expect to see Mike D. shoot 90% from the line this season.</div>It's great to hear that players like Foyle and Biedrins who usually shoot around 50 percent for the year, 30 for Beans, are making their free throws consistently. Baron and J-Rich should benefit from a free throw coach.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>To close out the evening, Coach Nelson used one of the oldest forms of motivation as he had the night before. He walked up and down the baseline, looking into the faces of each of his tired players and, methodically, picked different guys out and asked them to step to the foul line. The task was simple: make the free throws and you returned to the baseline; miss the free throw and the entire team runs. Needless to say, not many missed, which is a refreshing sign for many Warrior fans. He did, however, continue to rib and motivate Baron Davis, who missed his initial free throw and subsequently watched three other point guards ? Keith McLeod, Andre Owens and Dajuan Wager ? make their shots from the charity stripe. Nellie?s comment to BD ? ?I guess you?re my fourth string point guard now; I?ll probably only use you when the rest of them foul out!? That elicited a chuckle from everyone.</div>I'm glad our new coach has the balls to motivate Baron if needed, Monty had no huevos about facing players. That is why Monty is gone, he was stupid about using his bench and he had no clue how to motivate.
