David wrote:David wrote:The talent Nelson had, all played the same position. You could play two on the floor at a time but they played out of position to make it work. Plus, Antoine Walker is one of the biggest ball-hogs ever. He's not that good of a shooter. The other teams played off of him and kept Dirk from receiving the pass from Walker. Antoine didn't want to pass it anyway.
Antoine also proved to be a terrible free throw shooter. He almost had a mental thing about it. Antoine could drive the basket but if he got fouled, it did no good. He'd shoot 50% at best. Until the Mavs got him, I thought he was a pretty talented player.
There are more things than talent. It has to be the right talent, used in the right way. It was a miracle the Mavs won 52 games that year. The roster was an abortion.uptempo wrote:1. Nelson put that team together, including acquiring the players.
Donnie put the team together at Cuban's direction. All the trades were made to bail Mark's @ss out of Raef's bad contract. It was Nelson who played the good soldier and made do and then took the blame because the team was less than it was before.uptempo wrote:2. Nelson did not emphasis defense with his team.
They hired Del Harris to run the defense. He's still there, running AJ's defense.uptempo wrote:3. AJ took that talent, emphasized playing defense (a necessity to advance in the playoffs), and got the team to the NBA Finals, something that Nelson has never done.
The Mavs now have centers, or weren't you paying attention? Statistically, the defense is virtually identical to the Nelson teams.I'm glad the Mavs have a good coach. They had a better coach. He's the solution at Golden State, not the problem.uptempo wrote:You should be appreciative of the job that AJ has done instead of pining for the return of Nelson. He, Nelson, is now our problem at Golden State.I like going to the NBA finals. It's just that I think Nelson got cheated out of the opportunity to silence some very ignorant critics. Instead of calling names, perhaps you should check your facts.uptempo wrote:Get over it; we don't need any Maverick trolls on the Golden State board.
The team that the Nelsons put together in Dallas was very much like the team that they had put together in Golden State. It was exciting to watch, however, deficient in defense and rebounding. Nelson Sr. was hired originally as GM and he immediately proceeded to dismantle the team in order to destroy any chance for Jim Clemons to succeed. Nelson Sr. did the same thing in Golden State to George Karl. Nelson had complete autonomy in personnel decisions, and he built an incomplete team in Dallas just like he did in Golden State.
Delmer was brought in to install the high post offense. Nelson had brought in Bob Weiss to Golden State to install the passing offense. Nelson's version of defense is to try to outscore the opponent, a fun concept during the regular season, but always fails in the playoffs (where defense and rebounding take precedence (just look at Miami, San Antonio, and Detroit (the last three NBA champions))).
If Nelson was a better coach than AJ, why didn't Nelson take a team with Steve Nash running the point and Michael Finley on the wing to the NBA finals?
We lived thru Nelson I a decade ago. He didn't do the job in Milwaukee; he didn't do the job in Golden State; he didn't do the job in NY; he didn't do the job in Dallas; and he won't do the job in Golden State. He is a good coach; however, to be a great coach, you have to win a championship. Al Attles is a better coach than Don Nelson; Al Attles coached a championship team.