Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski has another good article on the Warriors, this time he targets Nelson. "Captain's Orders: Fragile partnership linked Jackson, Nelson" And he's right, Nelson isn't innocent in all this, he's been complicit. Among other interesting tidbits, he says it's Mullin, not Nelson, who "found" Anthony Morrow.
Nellie's issues aside, what exactly has he done to Jackson? Here's a good read by Rusty Simmons at the Chronicle: Warriors fire back at Jack
The point is, Jackson may have learned from Nelson, in a bad way. Nelson be be a good/great coach, but he hasn't exactly been a great role model. At times he has certainly shown his own versions of "I've mentally checked out", "I don't want the responsibility", "It's all about me", "Show me the money", etc. I do think that one reason veteran players like Nellie (at least for a while) is that he forms a bond with them along the lines of "Screw these corporate clowns, we'll play the PR game and let's laugh all the way to the bank together. Iif they get left high and dry at the end, who cares?" Granted, I'm speculating there, just my feeling. And actually, I kind of like that opinion myself but it creates a toxic, selfish environment and, while no one really cares what happens to the billionaire owners, ultimately the loyal fans pay a price. I think Jack and Nellie were rolling together in that mode for a while, but then Jack started taking it too seriously and went off the deep end.
I certainly think that's possible, that Jack learned from Nellie in a bad way. But, why would Jackson have anything against Nellie? I'm more of a fan of Nellie than I am a supporter. I think he's very interesting, to say the least. While most would shrivel up and die in this type of dysfunctional environment, Nellie thrives in it. Yeah, I think he's partly responsible for the dysfunction, but only partly. If he was given a better situation, he would also do better: better coaching and better respect from players. The downfall came when the Warriors lost Baron Davis. It's not his fault he lost Baron Davis, that's on Rowell, as far as we all know. It's also not his fault Monta got injured... Since then, Nellie has managed to piss off Harrington, Pietrus, and now Jackson, to the point where they all have publicly stated their displeasure for being on the Warriors for one reason or another. But is any of this the root of any of the problems? Am I a Nellie apologist? Maybe, but I get tired of people (not you) pinning the failures of the Warriors on him. When things are good, he does good for the team and when things are bad for the team, he seems to do good for himself. Is it really at the expense of the fans? I'm not sure.
I'm really down on Jackson right now, so don't want to defend him, but my opinion is Don Nelson wears on you. I don't doubt Nelson would be a fun person, but to play or work for him would be a different matter. The Warriors run all the time. The players really have to be in great shape. Next, the Warriors' players end up playing out of position. You get really banged up having to do that night in and night out. Furthermore, some of their players do not get consistent minutes from game to game. On top of that, the Warriors do not have players who back you up, especially the younger players. There's not much help defense. Let's just say Nelson's style of play is not conducive for the long run. Nelson has worn out his welcome everywhere that he's been. As a comparison, look at the Sacramento Kings this year. They have a more structured team. They have a young team like the Warriors with a few stars, but they are small inside. Their new coach, Paul Westphal, will have them play pick and roll and try to emphasize defense. The Kings will get killed by the skilled bigger teams, but they will battle and will be an interesting team to watch. They need a big, strong PF who can score, pass and rebound and they don't have enough talent on the bench. The Warriors should be better than the Kings this year, but the Kings will pass them up soon.
