The Nelly Curse

Don Nelson works a powerful hex over each team he coaches

One of the most potent curses in sports is rarely discussed for fear that it might rear its head and linger for an indeterminate amount over an unfortunate team. It only brings false fortune to those who have been cast under its spell. The only way to destroy its grasp, which seeps deep into the mind of those that it infects, is to completely reject it in every way. Is it the curse of the pharaoh? No. Is it a Haitian voodoo curse? No. Is it the curse of some Shakespearean haggard witch? Not a chance. What could it be then? It is the curse of Don Nelson and the Dallas Mavericks have been plagued by it since the late 1990s and even though he no longer coaches the team it still haunts them.

A Don Nelson curse? You may be confused so let me explain. The curse of Don Nelson is worse than Mike D’Antoni’s “seven seconds or less” philosophy. It is a curse of the jump shot and complete incompetence toward defense. What? The jump shot is the essential element of the game of basketball. If you are only familiar with the game of basketball based on the movie Hoosiers (great movie, watched it the other the day) you obviously have not developed any sense of the true nature of the game. No, this does not mean the league would be better with filling each team roster with a full of Darius Miles’. Don Nelson’s curse is of the perception that the midrange jump shot stretching out to the three-pointer is always the best and highest percentage shot. Entire teams are drafted and traded around this strategy. The only time any player is ever given the green light to attempt to score in the paint is if that player is a quick, speedy point guard or, better yet under the Nelson system (curse), a combo guard.

Look at the current makeup of the Golden State Warriors. They are truly a team built from the evil genius (?) that is Don Nelson’s mind. This is a fast, long, quick off the dribble, three-point shooting, undersized team. Look at their regular starting five: Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, and Ronny Turiaf. This is a deep ball shooting, small ball handling team, slash to the bucket (if there is an obvious lane), and fast break team; Perfect for Nelly. At a whim Ellis or Curry can drive to bucket and get a quick layup but if their shot is challenged they can dish it Maggette, Morrow, or even Anthony Tolliver when he is on the floor for a nice midrange shot or a corner three. The problem is all the positive attributes are only one side of the court. Yes, Turiaf is a good rebounder and shot blocker but one man cannot stop five. This, as evidenced by their record (injuries aside), does not translate to wins.

Nelson tricked the NBA world, however, as coach of the Dallas Mavericks, into thinking that it did work. The Mavericks are just now, finally starting to recover from the curse but they are not over it yet. They still rely heavily on the jump shot for much of their scoring. When it falls it is a wonderful thing. When it bricks it is agony. The Mavericks are a great jump shooting, one of the best you say. You’re right. However, it seems like they do not want or care to do anything else at times and will carelessly put up very low percentage shots just because they are there. This happens especially when they are down. Instead of getting into the lane and drawing a foul the jump shot seems to be the preferred method of a comeback for them. (I have been yelling at my TV during Mavs games for years now, “Get in the paint!!”) It is the curse.

The Mavericks are cursed in terms of personnel issues to go along with shot selection. Where have all the two guards gone? Ever since Michael Finley was sent packing the Mavericks have had nothing but issues (as if Finley at the two was not an issue in itself) with the off guard position. The curse continues. What about Caron Butler? Didn’t the Mavericks just pull off a blockbuster trade for him? They sure did but Caron Butler is a natural small forward, not a shooting guard. He and Shawn Marion play the same position and aside from where they prefer to take their jump shots (Marion: 10 feet and in; Butler: 12 feet and out) they are essentially the same player. The difference being that Marion can switch to the four spot in small ball situations. These two players combined embody everything that Don Nelson wanted out of Josh Howard but just could not get and the Mavericks have simply gone out and found replacements. Swing men are crucial to a teams success but to have a team replete with them is not. Nelson strikes again!

What is Jason Terry? To Nelson, he was a beloved combo guard. But this is not the reality of Terry’s game. He is a pure scorer plain and simple. He is not what Nelson tried to mold him into; essentially he is not Monta Ellis or Stephen Curry. Terry is one player that the Mavericks have been able to develop outside of the grasps of the curse. You can thank Rick Carlisle for that. Recognizing that Terry’s energy and scoring was more suited in a sixth man role than as a combo guard starter alongside either Jason Kidd or the traded Devin Harris who was a Nelson point guard experiment.

Carlisle has his work cut out for him if he truly wants to sever all ties with the Don Nelson style of play and his lingering curse on the Team. Avery Johnson could never escape the curse and it is the curse, and Don Nelson himself that destroyed Avery. Carlisle must get the team to focus on the defensive end of the floor consistently. It looked as though he had gotten through to his players when they went on a 13 game win streak just after the All-Star break. Since then the curse has begun to work its old magic again. The Mavericks have looked sluggish and lackadaisical on the defensive end of the floor, falling behind early during some games and needing a herulische Anstrengung from Dirk Nowitzki to squeak out a win. Last night’s game in Memphis is a perfect example. The Mavericks shot terribly and continued to do so throughout the game but instead of getting into the paint for higher percentage shots and the possibility of going to the line they continued to shoot jump shots. It is astounding that when Hasheem Thabeet was in the game they still did not drive the lane in an attempt to draw a foul. Nelly’s lifeblood, the jump shot, remains at the core of this team.

Rick Carlisle has the best opportunity to banish the curse of Don Nelson forever. The trade was essentially his trade. He knows what the team needs. What he did in Detroit and Indiana is what he needs to do in Dallas. This is not the grind it out East though. Carlisle has some tricks up his sleeve and more wisdom. Several summers ago he spent the offseason with the D’Antoni Suns to pick up on more offensive schemes and learn the art of the fastbreak. Under him, the Mavericks are slowly breaking the curse. It will take the full cooperation of each player, Mark Cuban, and the front office with Carlisle to break Nelly’s grasp. If this cannot be done the curse may remain indefinitely.

Baron’s ROY pick. We disagree.

Tyreke Evans is obviously getting ROY

In a recent interview, as reported by SLAM, Baron Davis, starting point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers and beard proponent, said that Brandon Jennings should win Rookie of the Year honors. Jennings did have a 55 point outburst early in the season which escalated him to the top of the discussion at the time. Davis stated that Jennings should win the award because he plays a key role on a playoff contender. Baron is obviously not a student of history. Lebron James won ROY while on a losing team (that would quickly change). Kevin Durant also won ROY on a losing team in Seattle. C’mon, B-Diddy, do better man. Look at the numbers.

Jennings does offer some flash on the court but has a lineup of Andrew Bogut, Carlos Delfino and John Salmons.  The Bucks have had a very easy schedule in 2010.  They have only had 17 games against playoff-bound teams since the beginning of the year.  However, they have won eight including a current winning streak with wins against Cleveland, Boston and Utah.  Yes, Jennings did light up the Golden State Warriors back in November for 55 points.  However, his shooting has been marred by inconsistency since.  Jennings has had a great year and has turned a perennial loser in Milwaukee into a playoff team but two others players have fared better.

Stephen Curry has basketball in his genes.  The son of Dell Curry averaged nearly 30 points a game in his last season at Davidson.  He was selected seventh in the 2009 draft by the Golden State Warriors leaving seven other teams wishing they had selected Curry (Sorry Memphis, how is Thabeet doing for you?).  The real surprise comes with Curry’s success due to his size or lack thereof.  The rookie is only 6 foot 3 inches tall and is tiny compared to most other players on the court.  Regardless, Curry plays with a heightened level of self confidence that we saw on Monday night against the Lakers.  In the fourth quarter, Curry took the ball up the floor and with his big puppy eyes, couldn’t find a single teammate open.  He just stepped back for a long three over Kobe and went on to score 29 points in the loss.  In addition, a lot of people couldn’t see him working well along Monta Ellis who is definitely a trigger-happy guard with 22 shots a game.  However, Ellis is having a career year with just over 25 points a game up from just 19.  Even his assists are up from 3 to 5 a game.  The Warriors only have 16 wins this season and will be taking an early summer vacation but their failure can not be attributed to Curry or Ellis.  A string of injuries, cap clearing and just overall lack of depth is what’s killing this team.  Curry is definitely a worthy candidate for ROY.

Next, there is the shoe-in.  Tyreke Evans was drafted out of Memphis where he struggled at first at shooting guard.  John Calipari transitioned Evans to point guard where he excelled and took the Tigers on a winning streak right into the NCAA Tournament.  He was selected fourth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2009 draft.  He, along with Kevin Martin and Omri Casspi, were supposed to lead the Kings back to glory after four years of missing the playoffs.  Things didn’t work out quite that way.  Kevin Martin went out with a hairline fracture in his left wrist.  In the five games he did play at the beginning of the season, he averaged 30 points a game but the Kings only won one of those games.  People wrote the Kings off when they found out Martin would be out until mid-January.  Of the 32 games without their leading scorer, the Kings won 14 (That’s about 14 more than analysts expected).  Evans averaged over 20 points a game in that stretch (that’s more than Jennings and Curry have averaged all season).  In the middle of that streak, Evans was instrumental in helping the Kings overcome a 35-point deficit against the Chicago Bulls, 102-98 on December 21.  He scored 9 of the Kings’ last 11 points.  He outscored the entire Bulls roster in the fourth quarter with 11 points and the Bulls only scoring 10.  Just last week, Evans recorded his first triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

Sadly, Tyreke’s efforts are not going to place the Kings in the Playoffs but his numbers are impressive.  He has averaged a solid 20 points and 5 rebounds a game and has given Sacramento a new player to build around.  No one saw him carrying this team especially without Kevin Martin.  He even helped this year’s rookies beat the sophomores in the Rookie Challenge for the first time ever.  He recorded 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals on 11 of 15 shooting as he went on to win the game’s MVP.  It’s pretty obvious who deserves the title Rookie of the Year.  Jennings has the flash, Curry has the confidence but Evans has the numbers.