Don Nelson Wants to Experiment With the Warriors
Don Nelson says he’s going to experiment with his lineups of over the final 19 games of the season in an attempt to mix things up a bit.
I know, I know. I thought the same thing – “Isn’t that what Nellie does pretty much every night anyway?” Nelson’s lunacy with his lineups is well documented, so what will real experimentation look like in the Bay?
From today’s San Francisco Chronicle:
It might not happen all at once, or begin tonight against the Nets, but Nelson reiterated that he’ll use these last 19 games to look at some experimental – and even traditional – lineups.
“We’ve got our center position pretty well taken care of,” Nelson said. “We’ve got a great sixth man (Maggette). The people that we’ve invested our money in … (Ellis) hasn’t been able to play all year,” Nelson said.
“We’ve got a lot of talent at the other positions that’s either going to help us acquire somebody who’s a good fit, or going to be able to rise up and be part of what we’re doing.”
A high draft pick notwithstanding, the centerpiece of Nelson’s long-term plan appears to be a backcourt of Ellis and Jackson, both of whom are under contract for at least another four seasons – assuming Ellis’ deal is not voided by the Warriors over his moped accident.
The pairing would help solve some of the Warriors’ size and rebounding issues and allow Jackson to return to his natural shooting-guard spot.
It also would squeeze Crawford out of the starting lineup, assuming he does not opt out of the final two years of his contract or is not traded.
Kind of crazy that the thought of the Warriors putting a semi-traditional lineup on the floor, where guys play their natural positions, is news isn’t it? For example, Kelenna Azubuike has been logging a ton of minutes at the 4 this season. It will be interesting to see what guys can do when they’re playing where they fit best.
Source: SFGate.com
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March 11th, 2009 at 11:04 am
rodnets says:
I like Nellie’s attitude. He is like a small child with a set of Chemistry anything can happen
March 11th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Prof. TX says:
It’s funny how teams tend to do better when their players play the right position, you know, the one that they’ve built their career around.
Putting Shaq at point guard might be fun for a game, but it’s not going to get you into the playoffs. There’s a reason that title teams have ‘traditional’ lineups.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Celts Fan says:
PLAY BRANDON WRIGHT. that is all
March 11th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Brown says:
Playing a natural 2/3 at the 4 spot for any length of time is never a recipe for success. I’ll never understand why they traded for Brandan Wright to have him sit on the bench and never get a chance to develop.
I knew there was no chance the Ws would make the playoffs before the season started. My hope was that they focused on developing Wright and Randolph at the 4 and cut loose the players not in the long-term plans (Harrington). Getting Crawford was a mistake, Azubuike and Maggette (and now Morrow, possibly Belinelli) are good subs at the 2-3 positions. They lack muscle up front though. Turiaf is good off the bench, but they could use another big body up front. A backup PG wouldn’t hurt either (so long Marcus Williams).
Unless they luck out and get Blake Griffin in the draft, I don’t see them drafting another young big man just to sit him on the bench behind two other young, undeveloped big men (Wright and Randolph).
They need to trade for a traditional 4 who can add some muscle/rebounding and maybe score some points.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
doc says:
They need to add a coach.
March 11th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Taj says:
Amen doc…
Another team that needs to get rid of the coach.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Coop says:
I HATE Don Nelson
March 12th, 2009 at 12:30 am
the cynic says:
5 pg lineup!
March 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
michele88mvp says:
Nelson is a very strange guy.
I just want to say that BELINELLI must play. He’s got defense, 3 point range, assist, dunk. He is the future with Randolph and Wright.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:57 am
angle says:
nike dunk