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Originally Posted by atrewsfan
Is it accurate to say that Nelson was the originator of the "small ball" style of game? I haven't been around that long so I wouldn't know if say the 60's Celtics played that way or whatever.
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Not really. Although I think it's fair to say that he made it a house-hold name. Truthfully, I think he learned it by playing with the Celtics. Dave Cowens was really a power forward who played his entire career as a center for the Celts. Nellie wasn't just about small-ball though. He was all about matchups.
Most of the numbskulls around the league will tell you that Nellie was only about offense, and only likes players who can shoot the three. It's just not true. Nellie always liked to use players in unconventional ways, ways that opposing teams couldn't counter. Having his bigmen like Dirk and Raef shoot on the perimeter was just one of these things. He also loved to use bigger guards to post up and score in the paint; Spree, Griff, Quis, etc...
Chum said something not long ago about Nellie that I think rings very true, so I'm quoting it in full:
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Originally Posted by chumdawg
Nellie has always done whatever it would take to win. Always. No way he was going to beat those Boston, Philly, and LA teams on offense, so the Bucks played defense. No way he was going to beat Shaquille O'Neal on defense with Raef LaFrenz and Shawn Bradley, so he played offense.
Is this so hard to understand? To me, it's not.
You know, I find it funny looking back to see that in the '03 playoff run we spent well less than ten minutes a game without a center on the court. Oh, but Nellie, even if he had Shaq, wouldn't play him. Please.
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