"I'm down to eight guys at this time, and this isn't the first time this season that we've only had eight," Nelson said before the game. "The problem is, defense. If I'm penalizing guys for not being in position defensively, or getting beat where they're not supposed to get beat, or not closing out, or not challenging shots or things like that, and you only have eight guys sitting there, probably two of them have come out for the same reason."

"I told the team that the other day, and they got a big laugh out of it. I said, 'It's not that I'm going to bury you on the bench. You're going to get back in because the other poor bastard is making the same mistakes.'"

Nelson chuckled as he said this, presumably to keep from crying.