Smart Defense [Inside the Warriors]

Don Nelson pioneered Nellieball and the Point Forward position and now he's bringing the concept of a Defensive Coordinator to the National Basketball Association. The innovator keeps innovating! And folks think firing this guy is the solution?

about 3 years ago Atma Brother ONE 16 comments 0 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I thought...

…that Doc Rivers did something like this with Tom Thibodeau? I don’t know if that was an official position or if he was just a generalized assistant.

by Zack Vank on Dec 19, 2008 10:05 PM PST reply actions

Yup

Tom Thibodeau is the man behind the great Celtics D. He’s their defensive coordinator. Think Doc Rivers could coach that well? Hahaha.

by Fantasy Junkie on Dec 19, 2008 11:04 PM PST up reply actions

too little too late

yes, I do think firing the guy is the solution (but it’s not going to happen so you can keep ooozing Nellie ad nauseam)

by centerre on Dec 19, 2008 10:26 PM PST reply actions

His perceived softness isn't the problem

His system is the problem. Players don’t mind a coach who treats them like a human instead of a dog but they certainly can’t play against big teams with so many small guys. Look at Atl as an example of a well balanced team, bigs and smalls. They just over powered us as the game went on.
A defensive coordinator might help a bit but he’ll need better defensive players to really succeed.

Till I get free
I live my life in the Walmart
Cholesterol chasin me

by Skeptic con Urquell on Dec 19, 2008 10:36 PM PST reply actions

I havent been happy with Nellie this year

But i will give him credit for this. He admits his fault and is trying to do something about it. If it works, you could see it spread league wide.

by The Golden One on Dec 19, 2008 10:36 PM PST reply actions

Your Nellie-idolizing is sickening. Sad days for GSOM indeed… what a joke.

by hv23 on Dec 19, 2008 10:50 PM PST reply actions

sadly, i still wish they'd fire nellie

the big problem is that he seems to give some of his vets a free pass, while yanking his young guys for the first or second transgression. and his allocation of minutes is so erratic that some of these guys don’t know if they’re coming or going. finally, nelson has developed a well deserved rep for playing favorites and refusing to give guys a chance. it’s sad.

by g8tgod on Dec 20, 2008 12:14 AM PST reply actions

Nellie is an easy target...

because he’s an innovator. He’s unconventional, experimental, and improvisational… He’s not always right, but when he is, its thrilling (remember We Believe?) and people learn something new. He forces you to think differently about basketball.

But people aren’t comfortable with things they don’t understand. Just like Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Richard Pryor, and even Al Davis… They weren’t afraid to do something different knowing that maybe it wouldn’t work, and might not be popular. Nellie doesn’t use coachspeak, he doesn’t play the fake media kiss ass games, he doesn’t go with conventional wisdom, he doesn’t play it safe, he’s not in The Club…

I, for one, am happy sit back and watch the creativity. Whether it be Tom Tolbert at point forward, Steven Jackson dropping a few 3’s in a row after missing 8, or Al Harrington shutting down Yao… Because once Nellie is gone its gonna be another parade of faceless, boring, empty suits pacing the sideline here. I’d rather lose with Nelson than with anyone else.

by in for life on Dec 20, 2008 12:48 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

Am I the only person who thinks it’s a little embarrassing that a coach who’s making $5 million needs to outsource half of his responsibilities?

Don’t get me wrong — I’m fine with the move. Our defense can’t possibly get any worse, so anything that re-emphasizes it is worthwhile, and it shows a modicum of self-awareness from Nellie, which is nice to see. But are we really supposed to be impressed that our legendary coach has acknowledged that he’s clueless about half of the game of basketball? If anything, this makes Nellie look even more limited and flawed.

by onlxn on Dec 20, 2008 12:56 AM PST reply actions

LOLOLOLOL Nellie reads GSOM???????????

I was asking and discussing this very subject a few weeks back, as to whether we had a “Defensive Co-ordinator?” No one knew which one of the coaches focused on that and someone even said “I think your thinking of football”.

The reason I raised it, was the fact that the Lakers have Pippen coaching D and figured we could use the same. However, I would rather see someone fresh as to be honest the current set of assistant coaches could have sorted the D already…if they knew how!

It's about heart, It's about fight, It's about being a Warrior!

by BritWarriorGSW on Dec 20, 2008 2:38 AM PST reply actions