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2k6-2k7 REPORT CARD: Don Nelson

Fj_cruiser_tiny by Fantasy Junkie on in Report Cards

Don Nelson is up next in our world famous report cards. After taking some time off in Maui, Nellie decided to bring the Warriors back to relevance. Things sure did look bleak back in February, but that amazing late season run will be something we can talk about 20, 30, 40 years from now. He'll go down in Warriors' history as one of the best because he bookended the last two Warrior playoff runs, '93-`94 - skip 13 years - '06-'07.

Here's basically how the season went:

Mullin hires Nelson. Yay. Lots of work to do. Guys needed to shed their fat. Troy Murphy: All Star Center? Mike Dunleavy: best season ever? Adonal Foyle: lose 27 pounds? Ahhh the memories.


A tanned Nellie


After a roller coaster season, the Warriors clinch a playoff spot in Portland. Nellie shotguns his celebratory Bud Light.


We made the playoffs!


Amidst a sea of yellow, the Warriors take down the mighty Mavs.


Showing everyone some love


Nellie's success boosts his popularity landing him some major deals. Most notably, he begins to practice poses for the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.


Like D-Wade said about CB34: SEXY!


It's tough to capture what Nellie meant to the Warriors and their fans in just a few sentences, so with the help of Adam Lauridsen of Fast Break: A Warriors Fan Blog" the 5 of us here at GSoM bring you Don Nelson's report card.


Adam Lauridsen (Fast Break)  

Grade: A+
No Nellie, no playoffs. It's that simple. He demanded more from day 1, shipped out or benched those who weren't contributing, set the players free to play the game the way it should be played, suprised everyone with his revolutionary defensive scheme, and kept his "aww shucks" act up the entire time. Too many good moments to list, but his beer in the Dallas press conference, his friendship with Stephen Jackson, and dancing in the locker room after clinching a playoff spot are at the top of my list. Rest up Nellie, 07-08 should be even crazier.

Fun Score: 10
"I don't love no coaches, but I love that man." - Stephen Jesse Jackson
Atma Brother #1  

Grade: A+
Nellie's washed up and too old to coach anymore. Wrong. Nellie won't be able to get through to the stubborn Baron Davis. Wrong. Small ball won't work. Wrong. Nellie doesn't know what he's doing. Wrong. Nellie threw in the towel. Wrong. Nellie can't coach defense. Wrong. Nellie can't end the 12 year curse that he helped start. Wrong. Nellie isn't as good of a coach as his protege in Dallas Avery Johnson. Wrong. Nellie won't be able to beat his old team the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs. Wrong. Nellie won't be here next season. Wrong (fingers crossed!).

Fun Score: 10
You haven't lived till you've heard The Don Nelson Show with the Razor and Mr. T on KNBR 680. I laughed, I cried, I wanted my very own Nelliebelly.
DJ Fuzzylogic  

Grade: A+
With the players he took over and the rash of injuries throughout the season, we should be calling Don Nelson Jesus since he turned water into wine and really got the party started at the Oracle. He isn't the only reason the Warriors got into the playoffs, but he is a mastermind of sorts and was able to maximize the Warriors strengths. Though, sometimes I wondered if they even had a playbook. Plus, he was the first coach that wasn't afraid to be honest about Dunleavy saying the things that many of us fans have been feeling for years. Nelson is for the people!

Fun Score: 10
Fantasy Junkie  

Grade: A
At the beginning of the year, I wrote that Don Nelson was going to not only change the win-loss record, but he was going to change the culture of the organization. We were so used to losing, that someone needed to step in and bring back some confidence to the franchise. Nellie did just that. His leadership in the incredible run to and through the playoffs has made being a Warrior fan fun once again.

Fun Score: 10
Hash  

Grade: A+
Nellie was BACK! And he did everything he said he would for the Warriors. He took a rag tag bunch of ballers with completely different styles and turned them into a run and gun team that the whole basketball world began to fear. Stay with us Nellie. We'll treat you right. Plus, any man who has the balls to take a cheap domestic beer to the podium after games is all right in my book!

Fun Score: 15
10 points for him, 5 for the Nelliebelly.

Overall Grade: A+


Clearly we all loved what Nellie did for the Warriors and that’s reflected in his A+ grade and his high fun score. Do you agree with the grades? Would anybody give him a grade lower than an A?

Even more Nellie:



2006-2007 Report Cards

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A
Gotta love Nellie. He knew it was gonna take a lot to get the Warriors to the playoffs, and he made sure it happened. After a great start, and a rocky December/January, Nellie really turned it around, got the trade he wanted, and guided the late postseason surge. Then he craftily picked apart the Mavericks and made Novitzki look like a clown. Our hats are off you Nellie. We can't wait to see what's next!
Nellie's Schmoes

by tadams1080 on Jun 21, 2007 9:46 AM PDT   0 recs

A-
Nelson wasn't perfect, but did a damn bit better than we've seen since Nelson was coaching here.  He made a few mistakes that I see that prevent the solid A.  He went back on his original plan to limit Baron's minutes and that led to the inevitable breakdown.  

by jae on Jun 21, 2007 10:47 AM PDT   0 recs

breakdown?
huh?  the jazz series?  do you think bdiddy broke down?

by eshock on Jun 21, 2007 12:45 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Mid-season
JAE's most likely talking about Baron's mid-season knee surgery, which I think absolutely qualifies as a "breakdown". The first couple months of the season, Nellie had Baron playing ridiculous minutes (44+ most nights, at least it seemed like that).

by ffgolden on Jun 21, 2007 12:57 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

One of the Best Coaching Jobs...
in a long while. What an underdog season.   The way Nellie got this team to go was damn inspiring.  Even if Nellie retires, I seriously hope that he gets into the hall of fame.  This guy deserves major props for rebuilding franchises.  There are players in this league that really owe their careers to this guy.  

A

by ThermoElectro on Jun 21, 2007 12:02 PM PDT   0 recs

A+
Nellie turned the Warriors into the most fun team to watch that there is. More importantly, he turned them into a REALLY good team. PLEASE COME BACK, NELLIE!!!

by goGSW24 on Jun 21, 2007 2:50 PM PDT   0 recs

very easy a
couldn't really ask much more from the guy

by AJC3317 on Jun 21, 2007 4:20 PM PDT   0 recs

YEAH!!!!!
I dont know if I´m really to late on this one, but Yahoo Sports has a rumor that says that Nellie is almost certainly coming back to coach the Warriors next season!! And fo course my grade to Nellie this season is A+++++
He made us have a historical and unforgetabble season! He deserves everything!
F**K REFS!!!

by faetati on Jun 21, 2007 6:18 PM PDT   0 recs

Solid A
Maybe the best coaching job ever for a near .500 team.

But more importantly, this team LOVES nellie.  Its not often you get coaches that generate this kind of response from the players they coach in todays business driven NBA.

"We STILL believe..."

by Da City1 on Jun 21, 2007 7:30 PM PDT   0 recs

A+ Nelson sees more nuance
No other coach can judge the ebb and flow of a game better than Nelson.  Phil Jackson may have been called the zen master since he liked to hand out books on plane trips.  But, his substitution patterns and game management were nonsensical.  Nelson had a standard that no player was beyond.  Not JRich, Baron, Jackson or Harrington.  If you did not perform your role on the court, you would not be playing, even if you were the centerpiece of a 8 man trade.  That is why he's my A+ hero.  A man with no concern of losing his job, speaking his mind, teaching his philosophies.  The organization bought into it and jettisoned the players who didn't like it.  That is a prescription to a good business or a well-run team, end of story.

by eshock on Jun 22, 2007 6:52 AM PDT   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed

YaoButtaMing  

Grade: A
Nellie is a genius. For the type of game our warriors are able to play, there is no better coach out there. Now, if only we can convince him to leave the wonderful life of the beach and Pina Coladas to come back for 2007!

Fun Score: 9