Is there a more impressive coaching job over the past 20-odd games than what Don Nelson has done to get the GSW into the playoffs? What an amazing run to end the season! Nelson has worked some more of his magic on this young team. First time in a decade the Warriors make the playoffs. Don Nelson for COY...he's my nominee.
great job and i'm glad the warriors got in, but he's nowhere close to more deserving than van gundy, who may not even win it himseld.
If anything Chris Mullin just might deserve slight GM considerations (as horrible a GM as he is) for fleecing Indiana in that trade. He dumped worse contracts, and worse players for two players that fit Nellie's offense perfectly. Of course, one move doesn't make one GM of the year when Colangelo basically built Toronto overnight into a contender. But it's certainly worth noting.
A lot of bad teams were tanking in the last 20 games of this season. More than usual, I'd say, considering the demand for one of the top 2 picks. I'd have to look at Golden State's schedule again, but I have a feeling this has something to do with it. If Dallas needs more than 5 games to beat them, I'll be shocked.
Wrong. They showed a chart during the game tonight that showed the Warriors had the toughest schedule of any team trying to make the playoffs (almost .550 opp winning percentage). They have been one of the best teams in the league to close out this season, going 16-5 in that stretch. They earned every bit of it, while the Clippers flopped over and over again. I didn't know that either before tonight, but those are the facts. Oh, and who again was the coach the last time the Warriors made the playoffs? I might be wrong, but wasn't it Nelson as well?
GS is going to get whupped on in 4 games. They have no discipline on offense or defense. Their misguided shots always fall, until the last Q.
GSW were looking lottery bound for their 13th straight year until Nellie came aboard. They had a tough schedule in March & April. They certainly had better run against playoff teams in the WC than the Rockets.
That team has alot of talent and they match up pretty well with Dallas as far as depth is concerned. If I were a Dallas fan I wouldn't be looking past them to the next round.
I don't really think so. They got some easy games at the end because their opponent didn't have anything to play for. Sac and Minn would have been medium opponents and Dallas would have been hard, but they were all playing out the string. Utah would have been hard ordinarily, but they were in a hell of a funk, so I downgraded them. Similarly, Houston lost McGrady early, but I still rate them as hard. Washington was without Arenas and Butler. They did scratch out some wins against teams they weren't supposed to beat, like Dallas (the earlier game), San Antonio, and Phoenix, but for the most part they won the games they were supposed to win and the ones where they were roughly evenly matched. In hard games, they were 3 of 7, which is good for a team like Golden State, but not exactly contender-status. Code: DATE OPPONENT RESULT DIFFICULTY Wed 7 Denver W Medium Fri 9 LA Clippers W Medium Sun 11 at Portland L Easy Mon 12 Dallas W Hard Fri 16 Minnesota W Easy Sat 17 at Seattle W Easy Tue 20 at Utah L Hard Fri 23 Washington W Easy Sun 25 at LA Lakers L Hard Mon 26 San Antonio L Hard Thu 29 Phoenix W Hard Sun 1 Memphis W Easy Wed 4 at Houston W Hard Fri 6 at Memphis W Easy Sat 7 at San Antonio L Hard Mon 9 Utah W Medium Fri 13 at Sacramento W Easy Sun 15 Minnesota W Easy Tue 17 Dallas W Easy Wed 18 at Portland W Easy Wins Losses Easy 9 1 Medium 3 0 Hard 3 4
What a joke. It's good the Warriors finished strong but at times this season they played like zombies. I'm glad for the franchise their playoff drought was ended but Nellie has no business at all in a Coach of the Year discussion. I nominate him for Most Overrated Coach this season based on their good finish and all the love he's getting for it. The Warriors are very talented but they don't stand a chance against the Mavs. The Run, Run, Run and Gun won't work as well in the playoffs and their soft defense is just what the Mavs ordered. Avery and Co. will have a lot of fun toying with Nellie's bunch.
the warriors might be soft on defense, but how great is the mavericks' defense going to be against the warriors on the flipside? nelly going small takes the heart of the mavs defense out of the game (damp, diop), while negating the 'speedy' defense of devean harris and josh howard by posting them up with stronger guards in baron davis, jrich, or stephen jackson. the warriors obviously aren't favored here, they'll be huge underdogs, but they are more than capable of putting up a good fight and turning the series into a nice show. i don't see them getting swept, at the very least.
Maybe they win a game if they are lucky. But the Mavs are the perfect team to exploit their zero of a defense. On offense, the Warriors lack of discipline will kill them in the playoffs and the Mavs will take advantage of it. JRich is very inconsistent; so is Stephen Jackson. Baron Davis has been great; Harrington somewhat. They ONLY way the Warriors are competitive is for them to hit all cylinders. Otherwise they get murdered. If JRich goes 2-12, stick a fork in them. The Mavs are quick enough to get hands in their faces and the Warriors shooting % won't be that good while the Mavs will score lights out. I detest the Mavs, but I'm glad the Warriors are playing them so the fantasy dreamers who hate the Mavs beyond reason will be silenced. Behind the Pistons/Magic and Cavs/Wizards, this is the easiest first round series to predict.
How about that mopey little speech he gave in Chicago following a Friday night loss to the Bulls? Late Feb., he said GSW's playoff chances were kaput. There's no way, in a hundred years, that you could convince me that the speech was some motivational ploy. It was just a whiny coach telling us things we already thought to be true.
sorry i disagree. the mavs are just not as good as there record indicates. the warriors have given them some trouble in the past. and i would say that you will see them when about 2 games and give the mavs a little trouble. i just hope that the rox sweep the jazz and can rest for 3-4 days before they play them, i think it would help this team.
