clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Soft Touch

When I think of Don Nelson's coaching style, I think of him as someone who is very demanding and yells at his players to get them motivated. A lot of the pictures I see of him have him yelling on the sidelines. Apparently, that's not the case.

"He's not a yeller," assistant coach Larry Riley said. "He has his way of getting his points across and making sure they understand that he's serious about the things he's talking about without yelling."

One way Nelson gets his point across without being overbearing is his system of small monetary fines. Players can lose $10 or $20 for not hitting enough free throws in practice or stepping on the out-of-bounds line.

The system allows Nelson to call attention to a problem without making a federal case out of it, and to make a point to every player, not just the one who committed the infraction.

So Adonal has a weird way of talking about his adjustment to Nelson,

Maybe Adonal meant that right now is the "Honeymoon period." Everything is looking great right now with the Warriors at 5-0 in the preseason. But my concern is what happens when the Warriors begin to struggle. Is Nelson still going to have the "soft touch" with the players? Are the players going to listen to him in the same way as they are now? I guess only time will tell.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Golden State of Mind Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Golden State Warriors news from Golden State of Mind