In a not-so-subtle gesture, the Dallas Mavericks waited until Nov. 6, when former coach Don Nelson returned to the Lone Star State with his current team, the Golden State Warriors, before celebrating the Western Conference championship the Mavericks won last season without him.
For Nelson, who resigned as Dallas' coach 64 games into the 2005 season, bearing witness to Dallas' playoff success was a painful contrast to his own career, marked by his failure to reach the NBA Finals even once in 27 full seasons as a head coach.
While the Mavericks, who hold the league's best record, are primed for another postseason run, Nelson appears resigned to enduring another season without the championship that has to this point eluded him. Though the Warriors sit just four games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, Nelson, having seen his team get mauled by the Chicago Bulls, 113-83 on Wednesday, told reporters, "I thought I was going to get this team to the playoffs, but it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to do it."
Nelson's willingness to concede the season, even with his team so close to its first postseason birth in 13 years, indicates just how abysmal Golden State's recent play has been. The Warriors are mired in a six-game losing streak that has them at a season-worst nine games below .500 and 10-19 since Jan. 1.
The team's recent malaise and Nelson's subsequent frustration have arisen primarily from Golden State's inability to stay healthy. Swingman Jason Richardson, the team's leading scorer and biggest three-point threat last season, was back in action Feb. 21 after missing 22 games with a broken hand. Richardson has yet to regain top form, however, as the former Michigan State star is shooting just 41.8 percent from the field since his return, during which time the Warriors have gone 1-6.
Richardson may soon benefit from some help in the Golden State backcourt, as several other injured Warriors stars are on the verge of rejoining the team. Point guard Baron Davis, swingman Stephen Jackson, and small forward Matt Barnes, all double-digit scorers currently sidelined by injuries, practiced on Saturday and may come back this week.
Still, these recovering players will inherit a squad whose problems may be greater than anything their returns can contribute. Among the areas they will be responsible for improving is the Warriors' play on the road, arguably the worst in the NBA this season. With their 107-106 loss to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center yesterday afternoon, the Warriors fell to 6-25 away from Oracle Arena. Golden State has hardly even been competitive outside of Oakland, losing its past six road contests by an average of 14 points per game.
Additionally, Davis, Jackson, and Barnes contribute most efficiently on the offensive end of the floor, where the Warriors, third in the league in scoring with 104.9 points per game, have actually competed with the best in the NBA this season.
Instead, Golden State, which yields a league-worst 107.8 points per game, has lacked strong defensive efforts. While Davis averages two steals per game and is regarded as one of the league's better defensive point guards, his play likely cannot compensate for an otherwise porous Warrior defense. Golden State's opponents have reached triple digits in scoring in 19 of their last 21 games, including 12 in a row, and have shot at least 50 percent from the field 14 times this season.
Among the players who have torched Golden State for at least 20 points in a game this year are Ronny Turiaf, Trevor Ariza, Rodney Carney, Sasha Pavlovic, Nate Robinson and Maurice Evans, none of whom average double figures in points.
Nor is there much certainty as to how a Warriors lineup already filled with guards and small forwards will adapt to the return of three backcourt players. Barnes and Jackson, the latter of whom Golden State acquired from the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 18 as part of an eight-player blockbuster in which the Warriors also obtained forward/center Al Harrington, play the same position as Richardson and Michael Pietrus. On his way to career highs in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage, Pietrus will be difficult to lift from Nelson's rotation.
The Warriors are thin in their frontcourt, however, especially after the trade with the Pacers cost them two post players in Ike Diogu and Troy Murphy, as well as 6-foot-9-inch forward Mike Dunleavy. Golden State was left with a roster whose most prolific big-man is 20-year-old Andris Biedrins, as centers Adonal Foyle and Patrick O'Bryant each average fewer than three points and three rebounds per game.
