by Clutch on Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:20 am
"We Believe!" was the war cry that once carried the underdog Golden State Warriors past the juggernaut Dallas Mavericks to one of the greatest, most memorable 1st-round Playoff upsets in recent NBA history. A trio of seasoned veterans - Capt'n Jack, J-Rich and B-Diddy - led the rag-tag squad of bright-eyed over-achievers coached by Don Nelson, the headmaster of a unique brand of attacking, high-scoring basketball simply referred to as, "Nellie Ball."
That was summer 2007, when 13 years of post-season drought finally came to an end and even the most jaded, cynical Warrior fan sincerely believed only brighter days lay ahead for their young, rebellious upstarts.
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Forward to January 2010... where cold, harsh reality couldn't be any further from that golden summer fairytale.
Less than a handful of players remained from that magical '07 roster and long-time GM and former player, Chris Mullin, had been relieved of his duties during the off-season, replaced ironically by former Maverick's assistant coach and advanced scout, Larry Riley.
A young, under-sized team coupled with an epidemic of freak injuries (some season-ending) had crippled Golden State, turning their otherwise high-octane offense into nothing more than a confused, inconsistent scramble.
Meanwhile, coach Nelson's unique ability to squeeze "small ball" magic from his players finally seemed to be running dry and the disenchanted, injury-plagued Warriors carried a heavy 13-33 record into February, winning only 2 of January's last 11 games.
But long before February, Nellie knew his experiment to partner versatile scorer, Monta Ellis, and talented rookie, Stephen Curry, had failed. The two possessed comparable skills physically, but in tandem, were under-sized against many of the league's bigger backcourts. But the bigger, underlying problem was that tensions between the two grew as Ellis increasingly perceived the rookie's talent and competitiveness as a threat. Whether consciously or not, the offensive-minded Ellis looked more and more for his own shot; where Curry deferred to his teammate, often to a fault.
Riley wanted answers. So did the fans.
Coach Nelson knew the rivalry between Ellis and Curry would only continue to fester, grow and further splinter the team. He knew some kind of change was necessary and that he would be held accountable for the decision.
With the trade deadline looming, it was time for Nellie to gamble.
Last edited by
Clutch on Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:36 am, edited 4 times in total.