I have catalogued several instances this season where I thought Keith Smart demonstrated a losing mentality.  When, for instance, after the David Lee injury, he started Dan Gadzuric alongside Andris Biedrins.  When he refused to run the ball, and told his team on the sidelines: “To win this game you have to win the rebounding battle!”  When he had his guards walk back for handoffs after rebounds.  When he refused to let Dorell Wright and Monta Ellis leak out, because “What’s the use of them waving their hand for the ball if we don’t get the rebound?”  When he wanted to run motion offense instead of pick and roll, “because we don’t want to fuel Utah’s fast break.”

Always letting the other team’s coach dictate matchups and style of play to him. Remember? A losing mentality.

I have also catalogued several games, particularly recently, where Keith Smart demonstrated tremendous growth in this regard.  The Warriors have begun running.  They have begun matching up small at key times.  Ellis and Curry have been given greater freedom.  The pick and roll has come alive. And the Warriors have begun winning.

And I have begun harboring hopes that Keith Smart had turned a strategic corner, for good. That he’d turned into a winner.  A coach that knew how to seize the jugular. Who played to win.

This game destroyed those hopes.  Once again.  Has anyone counted how many flip-flops this has been for me?

Under Don Nelson, the Warriors had beaten the Celtics at home the last 6 seasons. 6 straight home wins against the Celtics.  Obviously Don Nelson knew something about how to beat them.  He possessed the blueprint to beating them, that enabled him to beat them with teams far worse than the one that Keith Smart commands.  With rookies and D-leaguers, in fact.

Do you think that Keith Smart absorbed Don Nelson’s blueprint?  Do you think that he absorbed the lessons Nellie imparted to him over several long seasons about how to beat bigger, stronger teams?

Well if he did, he failed miserably at demonstrating it in this game.  I’m sure regular readers of this blog know what’s coming.  The way that this Golden State Warriors team, visualized and assembled with great care by Don Nelson, can beat the Boston Celtics, is by going small.  By pulling the Celtics’ big men out of the lane. By spreading the vaunted Celtics defense out to the three point line. By putting four three point shooters on the floor, with one big man, and scoring three points to the Celtics two.  By creating open driving lanes for Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. By pushing the ball.  By creating early offense.

By running the Celtics’ old men off the court.

Yes, Smart and the Warriors caught a bad break in that they caught the Celtics with fresh legs after the all-star break.  But it shouldn’t have made one damn bit of difference.  We saw it in the second quarter didn’t we?  When Biedrins and Lee left the floor, and the Warriors went small with Udoh at center, and Vlad Rad or Dorell Wright at four, the Warriors reeled off a 10-5 run to seize a 52-45 advantage.  Keith Smart immediately gave that lead back, by bringing back Lee to play alongside Udoh, instead of replacing Udoh with Lee, and continuing with the Warriors’ best lineup until halftime.

Even assuming that Keith Smart has forgotten every single thing that Don Nelson ever taught him, don’t you think that this emphatic second quarter demonstration would have given him a clue?  Did he really believe going into the second half that the Warriors could beat the Boston Celtics by matching up big?

After 1:30 of the third Q, Kendrick Perkins tweaked his knee and was replaced by Big Baby Davis, who was already in foul trouble.  GAME OVER. That’s what I shouted at the Thaiblonde.  Surely Keith Smart, schooled at the knee of Don Nelson, couldn’t miss this opportunity, could he?  This was the perfect time to go small, with David Lee at center and Dorell Wright at the four!

How could Kevin Garnett and Big Baby Davis guard these two players without fouling?  Do you put Garnett on Lee?  We already saw Lee blow by Garnett three times in the first half for layups or free throws.  Can Big Baby Davis guard Dorell Wright out at the three point line?

No, obviously you have to guard them the other way around.  But didn’t we see David Lee destroy Big Baby on a pick and roll at the end of the first half?  And wouldn’t Dorell Wright be pulling Garnett, the Celtics best remaining defender at the rim, all the way out to the three point line?  Wouldn’t the entire floor open up for Monta and Curry and Williams?

Well, you might ask, but wouldn’t this lineup get killed on the boards?  Do you mean worse than the 52-35 drubbing they actually took?  The Warriors can’t worry about that when matched up with teams like the Celtics.  They have to take their chances with Lee on Big Baby, which is a matchup I like, and DWright on Garnett, which is a matchup I would be very intrigued to watch.

And they have to take their chance with offense. Their best offense. They have to, as Jim Barnett puts it, play to win.

It got worse. Far worse. At the 6:00 minute mark of the 3rd Q, Glen Davis went to the bench with foul trouble. And Doc Rivers started trotting out giant meatballs.  Like Semih Erden.  And Luke Harangody.

OK, this was the moment, right? Surely Keith Smart couldn’t miss this one!!?  Oh yes, he could.  Despite the fact that the Warriors offense had been stuck in reverse against the ramped up Celtic defense ever since the start of the second half, Keith Smart refused to try to create matchup problems for the crippled Celtics.  He stayed BIG throughout the third Q, which the Warriors lost by 10 points, to go down 88-78.

Smart finally went small to start the fourth Q, and what happened?  The Warriors immediately went on a run to pull within four.

And then, at 8:47 the game reached a turning point. Big Baby steamrolled Udoh for the second play in a row, resulting in free throws.  He made both to put the Celtics up 6, but more importantly, Doc Rivers hustled Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett into the game for crunch time.  Did Smart come back with David Lee and Monta Ellis for crunch time?  Did he get Udoh away from a difficult matchup?  Did he get his best lineup on the floor?  No, Smart dithered, as he has done all year long, “coaching the score.”  And this time it bit him and the Warriors in the ass:

• 7:54 The Celtics leave Acie Law unguarded at the three point line. He bricks it, as he is supposed to, and the Celtics run it out and dunk.
• 7:25 The best shot the Warriors can get is a Vlad Rad midrange pull-up off the dribble.  Another run out.
• 7:00 Keith Smart finally calls timeout with the Warriors down 12.

Ok, I thought, there’s still time to get your best lineup out there.  But no.  Smart came back with Andris Biedrins alongside Lee.  And at 4:40, with the Warriors still down 12, still within reach, Smart replaced the injured Biedrins with Udoh.

Game over.

By lacking the courage to attack this Boston Celtics team with what he knows is his best lineup, by lacking the courage to play to win, and let the chips fall where they may — Joe Lacob be damned — Keith Smart forced his Warriors team to eat yet another blowout on their home floor.  How many times did Don Nelson get blown out at home in his last two seasons, coaching rookies and D-leaguers?

I’ve taken a lot of heat over the years for my “obsession” with Don Nelson. Inexplicable to many. But at the heart of it was something very simple. Don Nelson never believed he was going to lose. Every single time he set foot on the hardwood, he coached to win. Every time. He may not have had championship teams, but he himself was a champion, with a champion’s heart.

During the post-game press conference, Keith Smart was asked: “What happened to the Warriors’ offense in the second half?”  This is what came out of his mouth:

“The Boston Celtics.”

He elaborated: “Nothing you can do is going to surprise them.”  ”Everyone has to play great. That’s what happened [when Don Nelson beat them 6 times straight], everyone played great.”

Do you see the theme here? If Keith Smart truly dared to look at himself in the mirror after this game, this is what he would see staring back at him:

A losing mentality.

Before the game, Ray Allen was caught on camera telling his teammates:

“This team here, they don’t belong on the same floor with us.”

He got it wrong. It’s not the Warriors players that don’t belong on the same floor as champions.

It’s the Warriors’ coach.

In the end, there was no longer a choice. This game belongs to Monta Ellis. Once again he put the Warriors on his back, playing 44 minutes and putting up 36 points (on 16-28 shooting), 5 boards, 6 assists. But it was his last shot, the game-winner with 0:00.6 left on the clock, that made the hair rise on the backs of necks all around the Bay. It was cool, it was composed, it was perfectly created, it was wide open. And it was pure.

Last year I was all over Monta for his repeated failure to close quarters and games. We saw all manner of botches. Turnovers, offensive fouls, horrible shots, easy bricks. Nothing worked for Monta last year, as he worked himself into shape, and into a better attitude. This year has been a different story from the start. His success rate to end quarters has improved dramatically. But game-winning shots are another animal completely. With shots like the one he hit tonight, Monta Ellis is stepping into the most elite rank of NBA players there is:

The Closers.

Keith Smart: No way to sugarcoat or hedge this, Keith Smart’s decision to play a lineup of Lou Amundson, Vlad Rad, DWright, Reggie Williams and Acie Law in the second quarter was an egregious FAIL. I don’t say this because of the poor outcome. I say this because the poor outcome was predetermined and foreseeable. If Keith Smart went to this lineup 5 times — against a lineup featuring Foster in the middle, Granger at power forward, and George and Dunleavy on the wings — he would get blown out 5 times. If he went to it 10 times, he would get blown out 10 times. If he went to it 100 times, he would get blown out all 100 times.

By going to this lineup, Smart ceded to the Pacers the advantage in size, rebounding, skill, quickness and shooting. What edges did he create for the Warriors in return? If you’re still scratching your head, you’ve taken my point.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again.  Barring immediate risk to life or limb, or immediate risk of fouling out of the game, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry should NEVER both be out of the game at the same time. NEVER.

I’m also just about ready to say that Lou Amundson should never be put into an NBA game that is not a blowout. I’ll hold off on that conclusion for now. But I’m close. Let’s just say this: I’m 100% certain that Lou Amundson should never play center in an NBA game in which the opposing team is playing Danny Granger at the four.

Fortunately, Keith Smart corrected his mistakes in the second half. And I’m willing to give him credit for it: I flat out don’t believe the story that Amundson didn’t return because of his rolled ankle.

And I’ll go one step further: going to Brandan Wright at center was very, very clever. (Shocked? More on this below.)

Stephen Curry: I’ve been meaning to write a feature about my contention that the Warriors could be and should be the fastest team end-to-end in the NBA, a contention that was hotly contested in the comments section. Instead, I’ll attack the question piecemeal, beginning now.

It is obvious that any team with Monta Ellis could be a devastating running team. Take a look at Miami: they frequently have a one-man fast break in Dwayne Wade, and their centers are stuck in cement.

It’s also obvious that Dorell Wright is a nice running three.

What’s not so obvious is how Andris Biedrins, David Lee and Stephen Curry help make the Warriors fast break one of the best in the league.  I’ll focus on Beans and Lee in another post. Curry is the guy I want to talk about now. Isn’t he one of the slowest guards in the NBA? How could he contribute to making the Warriors the fastest team end-to-end in the league?

This is how:

4:35 2nd Q:  Curry receives the outlet, glances upcourt and instantly throws a perfect three-quarter court alley oop to Dorell Wright.

2:58 2nd Q: Curry throws another perfect three-quarter court bullseye to David Lee at the basket, for two free throws. Note that Curry took no longer in assessing how to make this pass, and yet didn’t throw an alley-oop to David Lee. He threw him a pass that hit him right in his floor-bound hands.

That’s how. Curry’s transcendent passing ability literally shrinks the court for the Warriors. Take a stopwatch to those plays.

The fastest team end-to-end in the NBA. I stand by it.

I don’t have too much else to say about Curry’s game that wasn’t obvious to all. This was one of his best defensive games in a while, at least in terms of generating turnovers and getting rebounds. Smart’s failure to protect him from foul trouble  – and overreactions when he does get in foul trouble — had him playing matador defense on occasion. Right up until his brainfart at the end of the game (which I think was caused by him pressing too hard to preserve his star of the game status, because he had not had a chance to be a star since last season).

On the offensive side, I love the fact that the Warriors have weapons all over the floor this season. But I hate what that is making Smart do to Curry’s game. There is a giant elephant in the room that no one, but no one, is discussing:

If Stephen Curry got 28 shots, he would put up 36 points too. Maybe more.

Or has everyone forgotten that already?

Dorell Wright: I suppose you could call this a nice game from Dorell Wright. His 21 points offset some of the damage that Granger did. He again played yeoman’s minutes, and is part of the glue that holds our pathetic Lacob-designed second unit together. His “team” defense was great on occasion: 4 steals, 2 blocks, one absolutely spectacular.

But this Warriors team cannot hope to win a playoff series until Dorell Wright decides to become a stopper.

To become a stopper, you need to commit more than zero fouls when guarding the other team’s best player. You need to get right up in someone’s face. You need to get into their jersey. You need to get into their head. You need to reach into their chest, rip out their heart, and eat it in front of their eyes.

Like Paul Pierce did to Kobe Bryant in the 2008 finals. Like Stephen Jackson did to Dirk Nowitzki when We Believed. That’s how you win a playoff series.

Dorell Wright does not seem to have an ounce of this quality in him.

David Lee: DLee deserves more, but I’m going to keep this real short. I have a question for Matt Steinmetz, and all the other main-stream Bay Area basketball pundits:

That ferocious box out that Lee put on Jeff Foster with 1:18 left on the clock and the game in the balance, that resulted in a loose-ball foul on Foster and free-throws…

Did that improve the Warriors’ defense?

Mike Dunleavy: I don’t think I’ve ever written this before, and it should be written:

Mike Dunleavy’s biggest problem in Golden State was Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson.

They froze him out. When he was open, the pass was late, the pass was poorly thrown, or the pass didn’t arrive at all. I saw it over and over and over again. (And then I read Dunleavey allude to it, once he got to Indiana). They had an agenda. An agenda to get themselves big contracts, at his expense.

They wanted him to lose confidence, they wanted him to fail, and he did.

I’m not saying that Mike Dunleavey is a great player. I’m just saying what Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson did to him.

Flame away.

Vlad Rad: Surprised by Vlad’s poor showing in this game?  Don’t be.  You see, Vlad was asked to match up with Danny Granger, and Danny Granger is a THREE.

Brandan Wright: Surprised that Brandan Wright had a decent game? Don’t be. You see, in this game Brandan Wright was asked to play the only position in the NBA that he can possibly play: backup center.

His three shots? Point blank range, which is the extent of his range. Made possible by the fact that he was hanging around the basket, as centers do.  (With David Lee spreading the floor.)

But the real reason he was useful in this game was spelled out by Keith Smart post-game.  First of all, Smart was able to hide him against a non-scorer, in Jeff Foster. (There is simply no way to hide Brandan Wright against NBA power forwards.)

Secondly, his combination of quickness and length made him able to switch onto Granger and George under the basket when Foster picked their defenders.  That shut down Indy’s penetration nicely.

Third, in the event that he got fouled, he could presumably convert his free-throws at a rate higher than 27%.

Nice call, Keith Smart. And nice contribution, Brandan Wright.

Pop scouted the Warriors perfectly. Knew all their plays. Pop game-planned the Warriors perfectly. And then Pop dictated the matchups to Smart perfectly. Pop must have known from the start that Smart would fall into every trap, because Smart is nothing if not predictable.

After watching this disaster, I’m a little perplexed as to how to run down the same litany of Keith Smart blunders, while keeping it fresh. How about I try putting it all in question form, for the home-gamers out there?

QUESTIONS:

• Which team’s management has remade their roster into a fast-breaking, Nellie-ball juggernaut that is taking the league by storm?
• Who would you rather have on your bench, a healthy Lou Amundsen, who can’t throw a rock in the ocean, or three-point shooting Matt Bonner? Who would Greg Popovich, famous for his defense, rather have?
• Who would you rather have on your bench, Jeremy Lin or three-point shooting Gary Neal? Who would Greg Popovich, famous for his defense, rather have? Why?
• Which coach understands his roster, and has shaped his team into a point-differential creating juggernaut? Which coach is determined to pound his round team into a square hole?
• Which of the two teams that took the floor last night would be the fastest team end-to-end in the NBA if their coach would let them run?
• Which of the two teams played at a faster pace last night? Which team pushed the ball up the floor on literally every possession, looking for early offense? Which team was shooting threes early in the shot clock, even on the fastbreak? Which team was fastbreaking after made baskets? If you answered “the fastest team end-to-end in the NBA,” you must retake this part of the quiz.
• Which of the two teams takes the most threes per game this season? Or in the words of Bob Fitzgerald, which team has most “fallen in love with the outside shot?”  Be very careful when answering this.
• If you were down 9 in a game against a team playing 6-7″ Dejuan Blair at center, and 6-6″ Ime Udoka at PF, would you counter with Dan Gadzuric?
• Of the two coaches on the floor last night, which coach learned how to coach at the NBA level as an assistant to Don Nelson? Hint: If you answered Keith Smart you got this question wrong. The operative word is “learned.”
• Why was Monta Ellis so frustrated by the Spurs triple-teaming last night, while last year, under Don Nelson, he averaged 38 points a game against the Spurs triple-teaming? Did it have anything to do with playing to his strengths, and RUNNING? Initiating his offense before the Spurs could set their defense?
• When playing against a superior half-court defense, at what point would you consider looking for early offense? Mid-third quarter?
• Why did Monta Ellis only play 33 minutes last night, and only 9 in the second half? Even given the fact that he made several bone-head blunders, is this how you treat your star? Your team?
• Did Keith Smart subconsciously need a scapegoat for last night’s loss?

Oops. Now, like Bob Fitzgerald, I’m starting to repeat myself. Time to hand it off to my color guys. But first, one last question:

In 40 years, did Don Nelson ever lose by 20 — against any team — with a complete roster on his home floor ?

Take it away, color guys.

And the Warriors lack Monta Ellis, superstar.  Monta is back, but he has not been the star of any of the three games he has played since his return.

Monta Ellis: It was a theme of mine earlier this season, while Monta was struggling to get into game shape, that the Warriors as presently constructed cannot win unless Monta is the best player on the floor.  On this night, he was very far from the best player.  His mid-range jumpshot was flat and short, and he seemed a step slow.  His handle was uncertain, and he had a tough time creating for his teammates. 2 assists against 5 TO’s.  In short, Monta looks a lot like he looked to start the season.  Either he’s rusty, or his surgically repaired left ankle, errr… his sprained right foot, is still bothering him.

He also got his fingerroll blocked twice from behind. Perhaps he needs to either start dunking those, or take a page from his below-the-rim rookie teammate and finish them off glass with the rim for protection?  Just a thought from a guy who’s always played below the rim.  Way, way below.

He nearly redeemed his game with two big crunch-time threes.  But I think he made a bad decision with 1:00 left and the Warriors down three.  On the fast break, he had an open three to tie, but he also had a wide open CJ Watson 12 feet from the hoop.  A pass to CJ there sets up a layup for either CJ or himself on the give and go.

Corey Maggette: Looked more like himself in this game, with an efficient 26 points on 14 shots.  He also assisted nicely in the first half.  Unable to guard Durant, and perhaps unwilling to guard Green, Maggette was matched up for the most part on Sefolosha and Harden.  The problem with that was that the Warriors’ missed his presence on the boards.

Stephen Curry: Had a very poor game.  Like Monta he was turnover prone against the quick defense of Westbrook and the Thunder team.  His legs also seemed to desert him in this game.  He had a tough time keeping Westbrook out of the lane and off the boards.  But a lot of that had to do with the fact that Nellie used him to give help on Durant and Green, and Biedrins was ineffective. In the second half, Curry came up short on most of his shots, going 1 for 5.

Nellie pulled him down the stretch, going with CJ Watson and Coby Karl.  Matt Steinmetz tried to make a stink about that post-game, which is his predilection. I think it was simply a case of going with the hot hands over a rookie who was out of gas and struggling.

The Centers: Turiaf was very good in this game, tying his season-high for points with 8 in the first half, and pulling 8 boards.  Biedrins was another story, once again failing to show up to start the game. He had 0 rebounds in 9 first half minutes. He started the third quarter just as poorly, getting a quick hook from Nellie after getting beat down court and giving up a silly foul. He finally began to play in the fourth quarter, helping to trigger a last-gasp Warriors run with his defense.

But it’s clear that Biedrins is still a long, long way from the player he was at the start of last season.  Stamina issues, rust, or continued injury are slowing him considerably.

The Little Three: CJ Watson played a very solid game.  Its nice to see him start to hit his open shots again.  He also finished some tough layups, which is uncharacteristic.  Progress or anomaly?

Vlad Rad is completely lost in space.  Nellie went to him in desperation in the second half. After a particularly Vlad Radian turnover, dribbling into a half-court trap, followed by an airballed 15 footer, he got the quick yank. That’s three games in a row in which the inactive Anthony Morrow has outplayed Vlad Rad.

The D-League All-Stars: Anthony Tolliver didn’t make much of an impact in this game.  We’re beginning to get a picture of what he can and can’t do. With his sound defensive fundamentals and strong body, he is quite effective against bigger players.  But he will struggle against the quicker and more athletic power forwards in the league.  Jeff Green made him look slow, as will Carl Landry in the next game, I’m guessing. His poor rebounding totals (3) weren’t all his fault. Green is a stretch four, and pulled him out of the paint.

On offense, Tolliver is turning into an interesting player. Nellie is starting to use him in the high post, and he has proved to have nice vision and a nice passing ability. He had three assists feeding slashers to the basket.

Sadly, Cartier Martin is no longer with the Warriors, resuming his lonely exile in the D-League.  The Warriors are not allowed by rule to sign him to another 10 day contract, and don’t have the roster flexibility to sign him for the season. They could have really used his defense on Durant in this game.

His D-League replacement, Coby Karl, had a nice game in his place, though. Karl is a player with a terrific basketball IQ.  He moved the ball quickly, decisively and beautifully. So well in fact, that Nellie was comfortable letting him run the team down the stretch in place of the struggling Stephen Curry.

Karl’s problem, of course, is a pronounced lack of athleticism.  Which is why the crafty Don Nelson will be playing him at small forward, rather than his natural position of point guard. He appears to be a smart and decent defender on bigger players, although naturally Durant dipped him in cheese and ate him like fondue.

6 points, 6 assists, 6 fouls.  The mark of the Karl?

In his comments both before and after the game, Jackson stressed that his actions in forcing a trade from the Warriors had absolutely nothing to do with Don Nelson or his teammates.  About Nelson, he said “I have a lot of respect and love for Don Nelson.” And he was equally effusive in his praise and affection for his teammates.  The reason why Jackson wanted off the Warriors was because of the ownership.  He wants to play for ownership that wants to win, and he doesn’t believe that’s the case with the Warriors’ owner.  I think he’s right about that, and I don’t blame him one bit.

Go in peace, Stephen Jackson.

I just got around to watching the game on tape, and was again depressed by the let down in effort that the Warriors are currently going through.  It appears to be contagious, because my energy level is suffering along with the Warriors, particularly after a long hard night battling over the green felt.  So if you’re looking for an insightful recap, I’m going to pass the ball to the consistently excellent Mike Massa at the Examiner.  He hit this nail on the head.

Stephen Jackson is a winner. He was a World Champion with the San Antonio Spurs. He was instrumental in one of the greatest playoff upsets in history, completely humiliating the league MVP with his suffocating defense as the We Believe Warriors sent Mark Cuban, The Squeaky General and the number one seed in the league back to Dallas with sore bottoms.  And now, as exactly ONE NBA blogger predicted, he has single-handedly grabbed the Charlotte Bobcats by the scruff of their necks and dragged them into the playoffs.

A winner.  That is the single best word you can use to describe Stephen Jackson as a basketball player.  Why?  Because his game defies statistical analysis.  That shooting percentage!  Those turnovers!  Stat freaks across the NBA have delighted in deriding Jackson’s game.  Prominent snake-oil salesman John Hollinger predicted that the Bobcats would miss the playoffs, and net one less win by trading for Jackson.  Before, of course, it became evident to all of his readers that the opposite was true, causing him to abruptly install the Bobcats as his five seed in the East.

Jackson is a winner.  He will give you 45 minutes of defense against the other team’s best player, whether that player is Dirk Nowitzki, Lebron James or Chris Paul.  He will get his teammates involved on the offensive end.  He will take and make the big shot at the end of the game.  He will light a fire in his teammates, as Anthony Morrow noted:

He’s a matchup problem. He’s going to defend the best player. He’s a fiery player. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. That kind of attitude rubs off on other guys, and I think it’s rubbing off on those guys.

He is, in the words of Tim Duncan “the ultimate teammate.”  He was, in the words of Mike Brown, “the most talented player” on that Spurs championship team. He was, according to Baron Davis, “the leader” of the We Believe team, and its “heart and soul.”  He is, according to Larry Bird, the toughest player he’s ever seen when it comes to playing through injuries.  He is, in the words of Don Nelson, a “heck of a basketball player,” a player who “makes everyone around him better.”  He is, in the words of Larry Brown, “an elite player. He’s as bright as anyone I’ve coached.”

Try sticking that in your pipe and smoking it, stat freaks.  Try drawing up a stat that can measure Stephen Jackson’s heart. Stephen Jackson is a winner. And if you can’t see that every minute that he’s on a basketball court, then there is something very wrong with the way you watch basketball.

Should Jackson’s actions in separating himself from the Warriors change a Warriors fan’s perception of him? I can’t answer that for everyone.  But for myself, the answer is not one bit.  I am very disappointed he’s no longer a Warrior, but I don’t blame him.

Stephen Jackson is a winner.  He doesn’t want to just play me-first basketball and earn a check like so many others in the league.  He wants to win.  He was tremendously disappointed by the breakup of the We Believe team, and in particular by the loss of Baron Davis.  But he continued to give everything he had to the team, while relying on the promises of the franchise that help was on the way.  Before last year’s draft, he was promised by Don Nelson and Larry Riley that the Warriors would add a veteran big man to solidify the front line. When Stephen Curry unexpectedly fell to the Warriors in the draft, those plans fell through.  And Stephen Jackson, who wanted to win, went ballistic.

I don’t blame Don Nelson for taking the best player in the draft.  But I also don’t blame Jackson for going ballistic.  The Stephen Curry draft represented the final straw in what he viewed as a betrayal of the veterans of We Believe. Jackson didn’t want to spend the most productive years of his career mentoring kids for a losing basketball team.  He wanted to win, and he didn’t believe the Warriors could win by relying on Brandon Wright and Anthony Randolph at power forward.  And you know what?

He was 100% right.

Good luck, Stephen Jackson. I look forward to watching you play tonight, against a player no one expects you to be able to guard, your friend Monta Ellis. I look forward to watching you play in a  hornet’s nest of hostility.

I look forward to watching  you lead the Charlotte Bobcats in the playoffs. And I will not be at all surprised should another great upset occur in the first round.

The Bobcats are -1.5 road favorites against the Warriors in this game.  I’m betting that Stephen Jackson, World Champion, gives his friend Don Nelson a hug before tip-off, and then proceeds to play his heart out.  Just as he’s done in every game he’s played since he entered the league.

Monta Ellis is back for this game, and I expect him to excel.  In the last game, Monta painted a big target on immobile monolith Emeka Okafor in the paint, until the Hornets started double teaming.  The Hornets may begin the double-teaming from the opening horn in this game.  Will someone please hit a shot?

Another player with a target on his back will be Peja Stojakovich.  Corey Maggette will destroy him.  That 3-22 will be nothing but a bad memory.

Curry will be guarding Chris Paul, and he’s proven he has the chops to do it. Paul will need to get hot from outside to put up points against the next great point guard in the league.  The lane will not be available.

David West is no longer the player he used to be.  And for the first time in recent history, the Warriors have a big body to guard him.  Tolliver against West should intrigue.  Or will Nellie again start Vlad Rad, to pull West out of the lane?

Is Turiaf now ready to start?  Nellie had voiced a plan to start him against the big-bodied centers in the league, and bring Biedrins off the bench.  Neither should have much of a problem against Okafor.  He is slow, with hands of stone. Its time for our centers to show up at the start of a game.

The Warriors, now 13-3 against the spread in their last 16 games, are +2 home dogs against the Hornets. That’s disrespect.

WARRIORS.

Its difficult to describe just how bad this Nets team is.  For a start, lets just point out that the short-handed Warriors beat them 105-89 in their own place this season.  I could also point out that they’re 3-38 on the season, and on a 1-21 road streak. Them’s pretty special numbers.

Not really sure what to highlight about this game.  It will be my first extended look at Yi, so that’s worth something.

Brook Lopez is the Nets best player, and has been beasting.  He’s listed at 7’0, 265 lbs.  In other words, 5 pounds less than Lebron. If you believe that, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.  Beans is in for another tough night.

Devin Harris used to be the Nets best player, but is no longer.  Not sure what’s up with that.  But looking at the box scores, I’m guessing the Nets are trying to restrict his offense, and make him into more of a distributor.  That’s a mistake. Like Tony Parker and a guy by the name of Monta Ellis, Harris’ great strength has been his ability to create his own shot. Expect Curry to sag off him. Like Derrick Rose, his drive is more dangerous than his jumper.

The gutsy Warriors have been on an incredible run against the spread.  They are 10-3 ATS in the last thirteen games.  The Nets, on the other hand are 1-4 ATS in their last 5.  A great time to bet the Warriors?  Possibly.  But its hard for me to pull the trigger while they remain one injury or one early foul-out from disaster. Also, the Nets have no doubt circled this game.  Also, Nellie might try to find a way to give Monta Ellis some rest on the front end of a back-to-back. Proceed at your own risk.

In the fourth quarter, the teams finally matched up small.  And then…. Pound, Dribble… Pound, Dribble… Pound dribble.  Lebron James took over in the post, eating up the much smaller Corey Maggette and Cartier Martin.

The Warriors were hit with a steam-roller in this game.  And yet, despite a Monta Ellis meltdown in the third quarter, and a brutal stretch in the fourth quarter which saw the Cavs take a 14 point lead, the Warriors never quit. The Warriors locked down defensively, with newly called-up Cartier Martin drawing an offensive foul, Stephen Curry making a huge block on Delonte West under the basket, and the entire Warriors team forcing the Cavs into missed jumpers.  On the offensive end, Maggette continued his assault on the basket, getting to the line for four free throws. Curry buried two huge long-range jumpers.  And then, down 6 with 0:58 left in the game, the Warriors came up with a sensational play: Monta stole the ball in the backcourt, Curry retrieved it and in one motion lasered a left-handed behind-the-back pass back to Monta for a three-point shot. Warriors down 3 with 0:57 left.

After Lebron and Curry traded buckets, the Warriors made one last beautiful defensive stand, forcing Lebron into a bad three-point attempt.  Monta got the rebound with 0:06 left, and…

Hesitated.  He made a motion to call timeout, then saw Don Nelson frantically signalling for him to push the ball up court.  He took off, but with the time now perilously short, he failed to see a wide open Vlad Rad, and dumped the ball to Curry for a desperation heave, which Curry missed as time expired.

An unfortunate mixup, one I discuss in more detail below.  But to me, this play was not the story of the game.  The story of this game was how the continually injured, undermanned, and undersized Warriors fought through adversity to keep this game close.  The same way this Warriors team has fought throughout this entire snake-bit season.

They never quit.

Is that worth something in an 11-25 season?  Is it worth watching?  Worth rooting for?

Where does this heart come from? This fierce desire to compete in every game, against all odds? This unquenched will to win? This belief that they CAN win?

Does Don Nelson deserve any credit?

Monta Ellis: One game after I rhapsodized ecstatically over the progress and promise that Monta has shown in his game recently, Monta laid an egg. Isn’t that the way it always is?

He struggled running the offense right from the start.  Pick and roll was clearly Don Nelson’s initial game plan to attack the Cavs tenacious half-court defense. Monta got a few jumpers from this play, but was terrible at hitting the rolling big men: he turned the ball over several times on the pass.

In the third quarter, Monta suffered a complete melt-down.  He began to take his repeated frustrated forays to the basket personally, and stubbornly continued to take the ball into the teeth of the Cavs double and triple teaming defense, without ever looking for his open teammates.  He got 5 of his attempts blocked in this quarter, including, I believe, 4 in a row. He went 1-12 in the quarter, at one point missing 11 straight shots.

As an example, take another look at the play at 8:10 of the third. Monta has the ball at the left key. Curry is wide open at the right key.  So wide open that he is jumping up and down and waving his arms to attract Monta’s attention. Monta looked him off, drove into three men, and got his shot blocked, for the third straight time. Monta suffered a terrible loss of composure in this game, that as much as anything was responsible for this loss.

This doesn’t mean I’m now down on Monta.  One glance at the rest of his line will tell you how great a player he is, even in an off game. 5 steals, including the one in crunch time that led to his clutch three. 3-4 from three, 9-11 from the line. 45 minutes.

I’ll stick by my opinion that Monta is the next superstar in the league. He learns from his mistakes, and he will learn from this game.

Corey Maggette: Maggette had a tough time guarding Lebron. The size difference between the two is simply mind boggling.  I mean, Corey Maggette is a big dude, but as Nate Thurmond put it, Lebron made him look “like a junior.”  Lebron put up 37 and 8.

But he needed 23 shots to get his points. Here is Corey Maggette’s line:

32 points on 7-14, and 17-18 from the line. 7 rebounds.

32 points on 14 shots. Ridiculous. Elite. Corey Maggette put the Warriors on his back in this game, as he has done so often this season.

Attention must be paid.

Stephen Curry: Curry stepped up big time in this game, continuing to cement his status as one of the Warriors big three. 21 points (on 8-15), 7 and 5.  That’s getting it done. And he got it done in crunch time, with 10 points in the final 6 minutes.

He is also simply dazzling.  Monta Ellis could learn something from his clever cross-overs, and the soft high finishes off glass against the Cavs’ monsters in the paint.  He could also learn something from the way Curry sees his teammates.  I can’t help but think that if Curry had been bringing the ball up instead of Monta in the closing seconds, he would have spotted Vlad Rad wide open and waving his arms.

That play that Curry made at 0:58, retrieving the loose ball, and in one motion flicking it behind his back, with his left hand, to hit Monta in the hands at the three point line.  Could any of the other point guards in this draft have made this play? How many other players in the league could make this play? I think you could count them on the fingers of one hand.

The Centers: Turiaf played a beautiful game, until his ankle went out.  Take a look at that +6. The size of this guy’s heart is incredible. Think the Warriors missed him in their first 30 games? I sure hope he’s not out long.

Beans on the other hand, was simply miserable.  I have a theory: I think he’s still hurting. I saw him sneak in a little ab stretch that made me say “uh oh.”

Hunter was game against Shaq. He got run over on one possession, but on the next he blocked Shaq’s shot.  Loved that.

Vlad Rad: Vlad got the start in the place of Anthony Randolph, and had a huge game, with 18 points and 9 rebounds, including 3-3 from three.  What was equally remarkable was his defense.  Take a look at his defense on Big Z at 3:00 of the third quarter, that resulted in one of his 3 steals.  Then watch his defense on Lebron at 0:20 of the third.

Tantalizing.  But we’ve been here before with Vlad.  He needs to get his Tantalizing/Enigmatic ratio over 2.

The Little Three: With Vlad Rad’s ascension to the starting lineup, Cartier Martin now joins Watson and Morrow in this group. And as this game indicates, I expect him to get the most minutes of the three.  The Warriors desperately need his size and defensive ability at small forward.  Watson and Morrow will be reduced to backing up Monta and Curry.  There aren’t a lot of minutes there.

Martin looked pretty good on defense.  And Nellie went to him more than I thought he would on offense. He seems to have a jump shot, with three point range.  I’m looking forward to watching him play.

Morrow and Watson continued to be invisible.  Morrow just can’t get himself open.  Watson can, but his jumper is still vacationing off the Bermuda coast.

The Last Play: I’m sure this will be a topic of much discussion among the Nellie haters, so I’ll write a pre-emptive “Crazy Nellie” postscript here.  Nellie has always believed that it is easier to get a good last second look by pushing the ball up court against a scrambling defense, than it is to attempt a last second inbounds play against a set half-court defense.  This is particularly true, as Nellie explained post-game, when that defense is Cleveland’s small-ball unit, capable of switching at every position.

And if you go back and watch this play unfold, and see Vlad Rad wide open and waving his arms at the three point line, I think you’ll understand Nellie’s point. Monta Ellis’ confusion cost him 2 seconds in pushing the ball up court, and may have also cost him a look at Vlad Rad.

Perhaps Nellie can be faulted for not communicating his intentions more clearly. I think it’s more likely that Monta, who has played under Nellie for several years now, simply had a mental lapse. But whatever the case, I don’t think he’ll make the mistake again. He, and this team, are making strides every game.

When your team shoots 38% from the field, yet manages to take a road game to overtime, it’s a little ridiculous to pick nits. But that’s what I do! My critical eye found a few other contributing factors to this loss, that I’ll get into with my coaching and player evaluations.  Beginning with the coaching:

Keith Smart: Vinny del Negro made an interesting decision in this game.  He started Brad Miller at the four, and went with a super big front line.  And he gave his team instructions to take the air out of the ball.  It was so evident that Jim Barnett remarked that Derrick Rose, who is superb in the open court, was deliberately not attacking the basket in transition.  I think this was a ridiculous strategy, a clear example of over-coaching.

But Keith Smart failed to find a way to exploit it.  The entire game was played at the Bulls tempo. I discuss a few of the lineup choices that I believe contributed to this below.  I’m not sure exactly what Don Nelson would have done differently.  I’m just going to note that I think Don Nelson would not have let the Bulls play this game the way they wanted to play it.  Win or lose, Nellie would have found a way to push the tempo, and run Brad Miller off the court.

Monta Ellis: Ellis had his jumper going in the first half, and the Warriors cruised to a 7 point half-time lead.  It all fell apart for him in the third quarter, though.  By the time he was pulled with about 3 minutes left in the quarter, he had gone something like 0-7, committed three TO’s, and the Warriors were down 3.

He played better in the fourth quarter, particularly defensively, but just couldn’t get it done in crunch time.  Several times he made the decision to drive into a packed lane and try to finish, rather than look for his open teammates.  Its hard to fault him for that, for a couple of reasons.  First, superstars take the shots at end of games.  That’s what they do. Secondly, Monta’s teammates gave him absolutely no reason to believe that they could hit an open shot in this game.

It needs to be asked, though:  Has Monta Ellis hit a single end of quarter or end of game shot so far this season?  I can’t remember him hitting even one.

Stephen Curry: Curry was virtually invisible in this game on offense.  His outside shot was off, and he got a total of 9 shots, to Monta’s 26.  But the rest of his game was pretty good.  His defense was excellent: Salmons went 4-16, Rose 7-22 (he split time on both).  And he played without committing a turnover.

Smart sat him for most of the fourth quarter, in favor of the far slower, and ice-cold Anthony Morrow.  That’s one of the decisions I wonder if Nellie would have made.  The havoc that the three point-guard look created against the bigger, slower Nets might very well have worked as well against the bigger, slower Bulls.

Corey Maggette: Maggette played a pretty good game.  He took a few of his patented terrible jumpers, but he actually made a couple of them.  Most of his misses came on layups and drives, which is a disturbing trend of his lately. But take a look as well at the number of free throws he shot in this game:  zero.  That’s a travesty.

Maggette gave a great effort on defense though.  And his 10 rebounds led the team.

Part of Maggette’s struggles in this game I attribute to Smart.  Recently, Maggette has had a tough time getting his offense against quick and athletic power forwards like Carl Landry and Jeff Green.  Luol Deng is also quick and athletic.  And yet in crunch time, Smart went frequently to Maggette in isolation against Luol Deng.  It didn’t work.

Note to Keith Smart: Corey Maggette does not have a mismatch against long, quick, athletic power forwards.  (Didn’t I already write this note once?  Someone forward it to him please.)

CJ Watson: CJ was totally solid in this game.  Take a look at his line, and see if you can find fault with it.  He also contributed to the excellent defense the Warriors played against the Bulls backcourt.  He simply did not get enough shots.

Anthony Randolph: In a curious decision that I’m sure will be debated in the forums, Smart gave Randolph a quick hook in both halves of this game.  I’m not sure what the reason was, but I assume it had something to do with not executing the game plan.  Randolph did take a couple of bad shots, but I didn’t see anything else.  He seemed to have good energy.  His rebound total was a little low, but he had 2 blocked shots.

I’m down with disciplining young players, if that’s what happened, but it’s too bad it happened in this game.  I think Randolph was absolutely key to speeding up the tempo against the Bulls.  The outcome could have very well been different if he had gotten 30 minutes instead of 18.

Vlad Rad and Anthony Morrow: were both cold as ice in this game.  For a change, both had all the open looks they wanted.  But they just couldn’t convert.  Their combined 8-28 was probably more responsible than any other factor for this loss.  I will note this difference in the two players, though:  Anthony Morrow kept shooting through the pain. Which is what a shooter is supposed to do.

Vlad, on the other hand, gave in to the pain, and passed up several open looks down the stretch.  Besides leading to a turnover or two, this really hurt the Warriors.  The looks they got, with the shot clock winding down, were nowhere near as good as the ones he turned down. As he did it, I could hear the hectoring voices of Phil Jackson and Larry Brown echoing in his head.  It will take time for the voice of Don Nelson to replace those voices: a created shot must be taken.  In Don Nelson’s system, Vlad needs to let it rip, and damn the consequences.

And once again, I return to Keith Smart.  Smart stuck with Vlad Rad, even playing him at center, despite the fact that he was getting no contribution from him on offense.

I hope he had a very good reason for sitting Randolph.