Winning OK, but Nelson wants more from Mavs

[MavsFanFinley]

Winning OK, but Nelson wants more from Mavs
Coach says team needs to increase level of play - or it will regret it

By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News

Two games into what appears to be a wildly successful home-stand, Don Nelson is not all that happy.

The Mavericks coach said that while the scoreboard has his team looking good, his own inner judge is less than impressed.

"I'm not satisfied," Nelson said Monday as he let the Mavericks reserves play his assistant coaches during a rare off-day for starters. "I think we need to be better than we're playing right now, and it's not because of scores or stats. It's just I need a better flow to our game, and it's like pulling teeth to get it. I hope I can get it before the year is out."

Nelson said he can't put his finger on the problem just yet, but wins over Boston (113-94) and Milwaukee (123-104) displayed a Mavericks team that didn't understand the goal of each game.

"When you play bad teams, you can develop bad habits," Nelson said of the 13-17 Celtics and 9-18 Bucks. "Then, as the teams get better, which the Lakers are a better team and Indiana is an even better team than that, you have to be able to play at a higher level. That's my message to this team: 'You can't be satisfied with a 20-point win and scoring 120 points. If a better team comes in and you play at that same level, you're going to get beat.'"

Nelson said playing the Lakers and Pacers is just what his team needs, especially if the Mavericks want to prove they are over their home-record blues. Still, he issues no guarantees on what could happen during the remainder of this five-game homestand.

"If I knew the answer, I'd solve it. I don't know the answer," Nelson said. "Maybe it's the limitation of the players in their positions. If that's the case, then we're not going to get a lot better. But we're going to keep working on it and hopefully we'll play better basketball."

But the Grinchly coach paused for a second and issued just a sliver of optimism.

"I think we will be a better team," he finally added, "but it's going to take a lot of hard work."

Harris on point:

While rookie Devin Harris played a lot of off guard at the University of Wisconsin, coach Don Nelson said he has no plans to give Harris any time at the No. 2 guard in the absence of Marquis Daniels, who could miss extended time while he rests a chronically sore ankle.

"We can play [Jason] Terry at two, he's a natural two," Nelson said.

As for Harris?

"He played off the ball a little bit [in college], but he can't do that in this league, he's not a good enough shooter," Nelson said.

[EricaLubarsky]

Nelson's just gesturing. I don't know if he knows any other motivational tool, but he certainly uses insult and underestimation a lot.

[bernardos70]

I tend to agree with what he has said in the last few News Articles he was quoted on. Even with sound beatings over the C's and the Bucks, I still don't get the feeling this team is playing near its potential. Sometimes I do get the feeling that this might just be it, this is all this team has to offer. I sure hope not, but sometimes, it looks like it.

"He's not a good enough shooter." I agree with that too, but he might be able to work on it

[MavsFanFinley]

Nelson says don't get too excited

By Art Garcia
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - It's not nit-picking when Mavericks coach Don Nelson says don't get carried away with a couple of runaway wins. Nelson is trying to keep an eye on the bigger picture and, frankly, blowing out Boston and Milwaukee isn't going to impress him much.

"You have to play at a higher level," Nelson said Tuesday. "That's my message to this team. You can't be satisfied with a 20-point win and scoring 120 points. You can't be satisfied with that because a better team is going to come in, and if you're going to play at that same level, you're going to get beat. You have to play at a higher level. That's my message."

The Mavs (20-10) have opened their five-game homestand with a pair of 19-point victories over the Celtics (114-93) and Bucks (123-104) over a span of six days. The win streak is actually three games, going back to a 14-point road win against the hobbled Denver Nuggets on Dec. 26.

The leisurely homestand does toughen up with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers visiting Wednesday. The Indiana Pacers, with Jermaine O'Neal back in the fold, follow on Saturday. Another three-day break follows before the homestand ends against revamped Houston on Jan. 12.

The Lakers (16-12) aren't the same team without Shaquille O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson, but they're not pushovers, either.

"They're going to be a hard team to beat," Nelson said. "They rely on Kobe a lot, and you would expect that they would. Rudy is a different coach. They don't run the triple-post anymore. They go to their strengths, a lot of isolations. And they have a lot of players who are hard guards, so we'll have our hands full."

For the first time this season, the Mavs have shot better than 50 percent and passed for at least 25 assists in consecutive games. But those stats might be misleading considering Boston and Milwaukee are a combined 22-37 going into Monday.

Nelson and the rest of the coaching staff weren't too pleased with Sunday's second-half performance of the point guards, particularly Jason Terry and Devin Harris. Terry, however, finished with 10 assists, giving him 24 in the last two games. The Mavs are 5-1 since he replaced Darrell Armstrong in the starting lineup.

"I'm trying to execute and get in the lane," said Terry, averaging 7.2 assists as a starter. "They have been telling me that all season to get in the lane. When I do that, it's easy to find guys."

Stackhouse reinjures hand

Mavs guard Jerry Stackhouse banged his sore right hand in Sunday's win over Milwaukee. The hand swelled up again, and Stackhouse had a large callus on the palm of his hand Monday.

"I hit it again," said Stackhouse, who scored 18 points against the Bucks. "The good thing about it now is when I hit it, it's not agony pain like when I hit it before."

Stackhouse missed five games with the injury last month. He expects to practice today and play Wednesday against the Lakers.

One for the old-timers

The end of Monday's practice for low-minute players ended with a spirited scrimmage matching four coaches and Shawn Bradley against five players. The game got intense enough that nearly all of the starters and key reserves watched from the catwalk overlooking the practice court.

The team made up of players only -- Devin Harris, Darrell Armstrong, DJ Mbenga, Calvin Booth and Alan Henderson -- ended up losing to lead assistant Avery Johnson, developmental coaches Mark Bryant, Hubert Davis and Kelvin Upshaw and Bradley.

So how can a team of active players fall to four retirees and Bradley?

"The problem is they didn't have a chance to scout us," said Johnson, who added his teammates might consider coming out of retirement. "That shows you when you're not prepared, you're going to get beat."

[TheBaron]

pretty sad that our reserves lost to Bradley and the coaches.

the more I think about it, though, the less it's upsetting. AJ is wiser and smarter than Harris at this point, Hubie was guarded by the smaller DA and Davis can still shoot the ball incredibly well. And Bradley can still shut teams down. It was really just a test for Harris and DA because with M'Benga, Henderson and Booth playing in there, ball movement is the only thing that's going to get the offense going up front.

[grndmstr_c]

I have a hard time imagining that this team doesn't have room to improve, despite Nellie's laments. We haven't had Quis healthy all season, and are still waiting for Devin to develop to the point where we have a backup point guard that we can succeed with when JT needs a rest or isn't playing well. Cementing our point guard play for 48 minutes and having at least a third 2/3 who can play at a high level (which I think a healthy Quis - knock on wood - can do, at least better than Stack has done to this point) are two things I was expecting from this team that I haven't seen yet. We're still in a less than ideal place at backup PF, where we just have to hope that Dirk will be able to handle the heavy load he'll have to carry in the playoffs, and Nellie will probably continue to underutilize Shawn, but I think there's good reason to expect continued improvement from this team without even getting to a discussion of Terry and Damp learning the team better and Josh's expanding game.

[jibikao]

Maybe Nelson is expecting too much from the new players and rookies? Maybe Nelson is too used to Nash running the floor for him?

I just think Nelson should be fair to the new and young players. They are not at Nash-level that's for sure but they may a few years later.

If Nelson thinks he needs to get the team ready for the playoff run this year, he may be asking too much. While Mavs is a lot more balanced now in terms of defense and offense, the players still need chemistry to get better.

I think Chemistry is what Nelson worries about the most. The flow of the game may still be "weird". Sometimes Mavs plays like they are a championship team and sometimes the PG may turn the ball over like crazy and nobody knows what to do except depending on Dirk to shoot the ball.

Afterall, I think Nelson said the right thing but he can't expect WAY too much from the new guys.

And that practice game is a shame. LOL

Jimmy

[TheBaron]

this team is moderately good but definitely not elite. We still have not shown that we can face adversity, struggle through gritty wins and come together. I wouldn't expect any team to show that after only 2 1/2 months together.

We'll see if this team can really elevate to the next level throughout the course of the season. We have more than 3 1/2 months left to get it together as long as we can win enough to keep us in the playoff race.

[samoan-maverick]

He is right about the lakers. They shouldn't be taken lightly. But the only reason i like our chances is that we are the league leading team in defending the 3point basket. The main thing they do is Kobe Drives to the basket and he'll either take the shot or if he's double kick it to Jumaine Jones, Brian Cook, Chucky, Odom or Caron and they'll shoot the three.

Lamar is gonna iso Dirk a lot of the game so we should retaliate with the same play vice versa. if we connect then we should have this game.

[Simon2]

You are right about the insults and underestimation. I really don't believe in negative motivation. Personally, I would rather hear someone keep saying, "You can do it" rather than "It will be hard." To me, if you keep hearing negatives, even though the game hasn't begun yet, you are already at a disadvantage. Furthermore, you will eventually believe what you keep hearing. If you keep hearing the Mavs aren't an elite team, then they aren't an elite team. You will think Mavs need gimmicks or tricks to beat the "elite" teams. I guess you will never ever hear any of the great champions admit that they can't beat someone. That's Nellie's style so Mavs fans have to live with it. As for him, putting his team down after they score 120 and beat the opponent handily, I would rather hear "Great job" than "Don't get fooled" Geez.

Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
Nelson's just gesturing. I don't know if he knows any other motivational tool, but he certainly uses insult and underestimation a lot.

[GermanBlitzkrieg]

Typical Nelson loser speech. Yea, negative comments rarely motivate like positives, at least in my experience. Negatives should point to constructive critism, NOT a put down.

But, that's why I think, in 22 YEARS, he's never won a championship. It catches up to a team in crunch time, to hear that you" just aren't that good."

Combine this with his "Nowitski MUST score less, so as to have balance", and it shows why I'm pessimistic.

Nellie should be given this year, then fired. Short of WCFs if Dirk stays healthy. If Dirk is hurt, I still send him packing.


I liked Nelson when rebuilding, now, he is drag on the mentality of this team. CHAMPIONS THINK LIKE CHAMPIONS, NOT CHUMPS.

(Imagine Jordan, Bird, Magic, Shaq saying"We're just not good enough...").

[chumdawg]

Originally posted by: Simon2
You are right about the insults and underestimation. I really don't believe in negative motivation. Personally, I would rather hear someone keep saying, "You can do it" rather than "It will be hard." To me, if you keep hearing negatives, even though the game hasn't begun yet, you are already at a disadvantage. Furthermore, you will eventually believe what you keep hearing. If you keep hearing the Mavs aren't an elite team, then they aren't an elite team. You will think Mavs need gimmicks or tricks to beat the "elite" teams. I guess you will never ever hear any of the great champions admit that they can't beat someone. That's Nellie's style so Mavs fans have to live with it. As for him, putting his team down after they score 120 and beat the opponent handily, I would rather hear "Great job" than "Don't get fooled" Geez.

If it was a veteran team that had played together for at least a year or two, I would probably agree with you. But this is a baby of a team, still trying to figure out who it is--or to put a finer point on it, who it can be. I don't mind keeping the bar high for these guys.

Besides, there are plenty other people more than happy to feed them cheese.

[kg_veteran]

Originally posted by: chumdawg

If it was a veteran team that had played together for at least a year or two, I would probably agree with you. But this is a baby of a team, still trying to figure out who it is--or to put a finer point on it, who it can be. I don't mind keeping the bar high for these guys.

Besides, there are plenty other people more than happy to feed them cheese.

Although I typically hate Nellie's poormouthing tactics, in this instance I agree with you, chumdawg. This is a team that has shown that it CAN get full of itself very quickly, and fall flat on its face. As an example, witness the amazing showing in New York, followed immediately by an awful showing in Atlanta. The team has been very inconsistent thus far, and I think Nellie is setting the bar high to keep them from experiencing a similar letdown against the Lakers and/or Pacers and Rockets.

Let's face it. With the amount of preparation time they have, there's absolutely NO excuse not to win the next 3 games and head into the showdown with the Spurs with a six game win streak and some serious momentum.

Good job, Nellie -- keep it up.

[Simon2]

(Imagine Jordan, Bird, Magic, Shaq saying"We're just not good enough...").

Bingo!!! Well. Jordan thought it when he got his butt kicked by Detroit. That's why he bulked up. He never ever verbalized it then. Never show weakness.

[kg_veteran]

Originally posted by: Simon2

Bingo!!! Well. Jordan thought it when he got his butt kicked by Detroit. That's why he bulked up. He never ever verbalized it then. Never show weakness.

Bad analogy, because it's not our best player saying it.

[Simon2]

Kg_veteran and chumdawg. If you think this is a baby team, then the more it should handled with positives. If you had children, would you bad mouth them at every turn to keep their "bar" high? If you keep telling them they are no good, sooner or later, they will believe that they are "no good". Of course, there's the ocassional one that will try to prove you wrong but those are few.

I guess I'm sick and tired of Nellie poor-mouthing this team. Doesn't matter who is on it. They are never good enough. I bet if Nellie had a team of Magic, Bird, Jordan, Duncan and Shaq, Nellie would say the following:

1. Magic can't shoot the outside shot
2. Bird can't defend
3. Jordan can't score 30 a night because it is deterimental to the team game
4. Duncan can't shoot the three.
5. Shaq would probably be camping outside because he can't shoot fts and he can't defend the high pick and roll.

It just loser mentality and Nellie ALWAYS has some excuse as to why the team isn't good enough.

Did you watch Hoosiers? Imagine if Gene Hackman just kept telling they you aren't good enough or you are all losers.
How about Remember the Titans? Imagine if Denzel just kept telling them they weren't good enough.

I know they are movies only but I just don't see how using negative criticism can benefit a team. Even in managerial classes, the old way is to punish employees. Today, the better and more effective method is positive reinforcement and rewarding good employees. You never humiliate an employee in public as that never leads to anything good.

[Simon2]

So, its ok if Dirk says we can do it and the other four have the mentality of "we aren't good enough". Its a team game. No one on the team should ever have the mentality of we can't do it. If they did, why do they even play ball? If they don't believe they have a chance of winning the championship, why do they even play?

LOSER MENTALITY

You may think it somewhere deep in the recesses of your guts but you never ever tell someone you aren't good enough.

Originally posted by: kg_veteran

Bad analogy, because it's not our best player saying it.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: kg_veteran

Bad analogy, because it's not our best player saying it.

Same thing I was thinking.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Kg_veteran and chumdawg. If you think this is a baby team, then the more it should handled with positives. If you had children, would you bad mouth them at every turn to keep their "bar" high? If you keep telling them they are no good, sooner or later, they will believe that they are "no good". Of course, there's the ocassional one that will try to prove you wrong but those are few.

This team isn't full of a bunch of children it's field with grown men. If you keep giving this team their props and saying how great they are then they will start to think they are too good. That's not what you want. This team doesnt' need Nellie to tell them their good. They will know it eventually but they need Nellie to keep them grounded. If Nellie thought this team was no good he wouldn't say a thing. He wouldn't even bother with this team. He wouldn't be working with Terry to convert him into one of the better point guards in this league. He knows how good this team can be and he's trying his best to get them there. I have no problem with him keeping this team grounded because the ones that think they are too good usually fail. The Spurs go out there and get the job done. You get the sense that the Spurs are grounded. They go out and give 110% every game because they know they have to in order to win. I will never forget a year or two ago when Matt Hasselbeck was so overly confident that he told the ref not only did they want possession but they were going to win the game. What happens? It was like a sign from the NFL gods. The game ends on him throwing an interception for a touchdown.

[aexchange]

I have no problem with what Nellie is saying. He has consistently set the bar high for this team. Where as in the past, he consistently lowered the bar and said other teams were better than them.

This year is one of the first times I've heard him come out and say, I expect to win and we should beat this team pretty easily.

Good Job Nellie!

[kg_veteran]

Originally posted by: Simon2
Kg_veteran and chumdawg. If you think this is a baby team, then the more it should handled with positives. If you had children, would you bad mouth them at every turn to keep their "bar" high?

No one said this was a baby team. I think chumdawg said it was a "baby of a team," meaning that the team hasn't been together very long.

BTW, I do have children, but I don't see how that's relevant to how grown professional athletes should be handled. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

If you keep telling them they are no good, sooner or later, they will believe that they are "no good". Of course, there's the ocassional one that will try to prove you wrong but those are few.

Typically, I have agreed with this rationale. I agree that you need to have a "winner's" mentality. I am ordinarily all over Nellie for the poormouthing routine. However, in this instance, I think he's just being honest. The team is NOT where it needs to be, and he just wants to make sure that they don't think they've arrived by virtue of their recent winning streak. Let's face it, the team has been wildly inconsistent. It sounds to me like Nellie is doing exactly what we want -- emphasizing to the team that they have to bring it every night in this league if they really expect to succeed.

If you pay close attention to the end of Nellie's remarks, he does think the team is going to get better -- he just doesn't want them thinking it will be easy.

[kg_veteran]

Originally posted by: aexchange
I have no problem with what Nellie is saying. He has consistently set the bar high for this team. Where as in the past, he consistently lowered the bar and said other teams were better than them.

This year is one of the first times I've heard him come out and say, I expect to win and we should beat this team pretty easily.

Good Job Nellie!

Exactly. This is the first year that I can remember where Nellie refers to the opponent as a "bad team" and downplays a win because he expects it. In the past, you'd hear Nellie extol the virtues of even the bad teams, talking about how they were going to be quite a challenge.

Nellie knows that he has a team with the potential to go a long way. But he knows they won't get there by thinking they've already arrived.

[Simon2]

You know what happens if you keep telling someone he's no good? The person will most likely think he's no good or the person will stop listening to you. Maybe he does praise his team in private but why does he have to insult them in public?

Nellie is here because Cuban is paying him millions. It doesn't matter if he thinks this team is good or not. Don't kid yourself in thinking that the primary reason Nellie is here is because he thinks he can win a title with this team. It doesn't sound like it from his "we aren't good enough" blurbs. So, I can only conclude that he's here for the money. If Nellie really cared, he would have talked to Nash to stay. Nash is the best pg out there right now and Nellie didn't even try to talk to him. Tell me that is a coach that cares about winning.

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs

This team isn't full of a bunch of children it's field with grown men. If you keep giving this team their props and saying how great they are then they will start to think they are too good. That's not what you want. This team doesnt' need Nellie to tell them their good. They will know it eventually but they need Nellie to keep them grounded. If Nellie thought this team was no good he wouldn't say a thing. He wouldn't even bother with this team. He wouldn't be working with Terry to convert him into one of the better point guards in this league. He knows how good this team can be and he's trying his best to get them there. I have no problem with him keeping this team grounded because the ones that think they are too good usually fail. The Spurs go out there and get the job done. You get the sense that the Spurs are grounded. They go out and give 110% every game because they know they have to in order to win. I will never forget a year or two ago when Matt Hasselbeck was so overly confident that he told the ref not only did they want possession but they were going to win the game. What happens? It was like a sign from the NFL gods. The game ends on him throwing an interception for a touchdown.

[Simon2]

Guys. I have no problem with Nellie setting the bar high and expecting a lot from his teams. I was responding and agreeing with Erica that he uses insults and underestimation a lot. I completely agree that the bar has to be set high and the expectation should be high. What I don't agree is the constant negatives that spew out of Nellie's mouth. For example, if Armstrong is too old, why did the Mavs even pick him up? Why did Nellie start him if he's too old. That's just an example of the negativity. What do you think Armstrong feels?

[chumdawg]

Simon, with due respect, I fear you are misinterpreting some of Nellie's comments. He has long had a self-depracating sense of humor with the press. What he tells his team privately is anyone's best guess, but I imagine that it doesn't always match the public comments. As far as I am aware, Nellie's Mavs haven't experienced any problems of players quitting on the coach, or what have you.

Now, about the comments in question today. I'm not sure if you have followed the Cowboys for a while, but perhaps there is an analogy here. Troy Aikman, the All-Pro quarterback and most important member of the team, played for both Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Jimmy was a taskmaster, Barry was a "players' coach" extraordinaire. It's no secret that Aikman preferred Johnson to Switzer. Why? Because more than anything else, Aikman wanted to win. He was willing to put in all the extra work, and he was happy in an environment where that work ethic would be required of everyone on the team. It gave him a better chance to win.

Now consider the fairhaired Dirk Nowitzki. What does he say when praise is heaped upon him? He quickly points out the areas where he needs to improve. He probably sets his own bar higher than anyone else sets it for him, from what I can tell. He is the Mavericks' Troy Aikman.

Which coach would Nowitzki prefer to play under, do you think? Johnson or Switzer? I say Johnson, and it isn't close.

So I would imagine that Nellie's recent comments would be music to Dirk's ears. And it's music to my ears to hear that the coaching staff is on the same page as the most important player. If the entire team had Dirk's work ethic...well, let's just say that it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Now, a final comment about Nellie. You said the following:

I guess I'm sick and tired of Nellie poor-mouthing this team. Doesn't matter who is on it. They are never good enough. I bet if Nellie had a team of Magic, Bird, Jordan, Duncan and Shaq, Nellie would say the following:

1. Magic can't shoot the outside shot
2. Bird can't defend
3. Jordan can't score 30 a night because it is deterimental to the team game
4. Duncan can't shoot the three.
5. Shaq would probably be camping outside because he can't shoot fts and he can't defend the high pick and roll.

It just loser mentality and Nellie ALWAYS has some excuse as to why the team isn't good enough.

One problem with that, and it's the thing that I think a lot of people don't appreciate when critiquing Nellie: Nellie has never HAD the best team. He was ALWAYS outmanned by the Celtics and Sixers when he had his good Bucks teams. He didn't have anything close to championship caliber talent in Golden State or New York. He's never coached a Magic or a Bird or a Jordan--even worse, he's always had to coach against them! I guess what I get tired of is hearing people say things like "Nellie wouldn't play Shaq even if he had him" or your suggestions about how Nellie would handle some of the greatest to ever play the game. It's simply not a fair shake. He's never had those guys. They've always been on teams that were legitimately better than his.

Now it's true, he may have one of those greats on his hands here. And however he's handled him so far, it appears to have worked very well. I think you will have as hard a time as I will trying to remember anything negative Nellie has ever said about Dirk. Right?

And it seems like he is on the same page with him on this how-good-we-are issue, which I don't mind at all.

[Simon2]

Originally posted by: chumdawg
Simon, with due respect, I fear you are misinterpreting some of Nellie's comments. He has long had a self-depracating sense of humor with the press. What he tells his team privately is anyone's best guess, but I imagine that it doesn't always match the public comments. As far as I am aware, Nellie's Mavs haven't experienced any problems of players quitting on the coach, or what have you.

I have no qualms about his comments today. In fact, I like them. I was only responding to Erica's comments

Now, about the comments in question today. I'm not sure if you have followed the Cowboys for a while, but perhaps there is an analogy here. Troy Aikman, the All-Pro quarterback and most important member of the team, played for both Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Jimmy was a taskmaster, Barry was a "players' coach" extraordinaire. It's no secret that Aikman preferred Johnson to Switzer. Why? Because more than anything else, Aikman wanted to win. He was willing to put in all the extra work, and he was happy in an environment where that work ethic would be required of everyone on the team. It gave him a better chance to win.

Now consider the fairhaired Dirk Nowitzki. What does he say when praise is heaped upon him? He quickly points out the areas where he needs to improve. He probably sets his own bar higher than anyone else sets it for him, from what I can tell. He is the Mavericks' Troy Aikman.

Which coach would Nowitzki prefer to play under, do you think? Johnson or Switzer? I say Johnson, and it isn't close.

I agree with your analogy that Dirk is Troy but I don't think Nellie is Johnson and it isn't even close. I think he is more of a Barry Switzer. To me, Johnson was the general and his word was the law. Why do I say this? Nellie keeps saying he emphasizes defense but does it happen? No. If Johnson emphasized defense, you do it or you get cut. Remember when he walked up to a player in practice and cut him right there. To me, Nellie is Switzer and not Johnson. Nellie isn't even Switzer because Switzer was winning in Oklahoma. Did you even hear Switzer or Johnson humilliate a player in public? I liked Johnson's gall when he even guaranteed a win. Nellie would never ever do that. I don't think Nellie has got the killer's instinct. Even though Nellie would have the better team, he would still try to matchup with the other team.

So I would imagine that Nellie's recent comments would be music to Dirk's ears. And it's music to my ears to hear that the coaching staff is on the same page as the most important player. If the entire team had Dirk's work ethic...well, let's just say that it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Now, a final comment about Nellie. You said the following:

One problem with that, and it's the thing that I think a lot of people don't appreciate when critiquing Nellie: Nellie has never HAD the best team. He was ALWAYS outmanned by the Celtics and Sixers when he had his good Bucks teams. He didn't have anything close to championship caliber talent in Golden State or New York. He's never coached a Magic or a Bird or a Jordan--even worse, he's always had to coach against them! I guess what I get tired of is hearing people say things like "Nellie wouldn't play Shaq even if he had him" or your suggestions about how Nellie would handle some of the greatest to ever play the game. It's simply not a fair shake. He's never had those guys. They've always been on teams that were legitimately better than his.

You can only say a team is better because of the history but when you were in the 80s could you really say that Magic or Bird's team was better. The better team was the one who won. Besides, I think the argument that he didn't have a legend is BS. Players become legends when they win. Not the other way around. So, does having a "Legend" on your team make you better? Yes! The problem is the guy only becomes a legend after he wins championships. Ever wonder why Barkley, Malone and Stockton aren't considered in the same breathe as Jordan or Magic? Because they don't have a ring. If Barkley had 2 or three rings, he would be mentioned in the same breathe as Bird and Magic. So, to my argument, Dirk only becomes a legend if he wins and I don't think Nellie can deliver. He hasn't done it in 20 years. So what if he doesn't have the "best" team. He has had pretty good team and has he gone to the finals? Nope. Why? Defeatist attitude.

Now it's true, he may have one of those greats on his hands here. And however he's handled him so far, it appears to have worked very well. I think you will have as hard a time as I will trying to remember anything negative Nellie has ever said about Dirk. Right?

And it seems like he is on the same page with him on this how-good-we-are issue, which I don't mind at all.

All Nellie apologists will say he never had the best team. The best team is the team that wins the ring. Nellie hasn't won on any level and I don't think he can do it. He doesn't have the mindset to do it. Defeatist attitude and no killer instinct. He doesn't think like a champion.

[G-Man]

The problem with these critiques of Nellie's comments is that his comments were right on the money. This team is not playing up to its potential.When it does, like in the first quarter against Milwaukee, it can be awesome. But after the 1st quarter blitz, and all those assists, Terry disappeared. Damp got quick fouls and sat. The d got soft. Bradley stood around and watched the dunk-a-thon for a while. That crap has got to stop.

Compliments have to be earned.

I believe this team has big time potential, but it needs a lot more team work. It needs Terry getting 8 assists and harris chipping in 4 or 5. It needs damp to be a consistent offensive option, and people passing to him when he's open.It needs Stack and Fin to score more consistently. When those things happen, maybe we CAN challenge the Spurs.

I have high hopes that the lighter schedule, allowing more practice time will help. I don't have a problem with telling guys at practice, 'you need to get better'. Thats so obvious, they don't need to be told.

Nellies comments were a simple warning. Play like that and you'll lose 2 more at home.All that is, is the truth.

[Simon2]

When those things happen, maybe we CAN challenge the Spurs.

Look right here. Even the fans are starting to believe the crap. The Mavs CAN challenge the Spurs right now. Who do they have? Duncan? We got Dirk. They got Parker? We got Terry. They got Manu. We have Fin and Stack and Howard. They have Rasho. We have Damp.

Come on. Are you telling me that the Mavs aren't good enough to challenge those damn Spurs? I say F'em. The Mavs are good enough.

It just goes to show that if you keep telling yourself you aren't good enough. Sooner or later, you will start believing it. Even fans are starting to believe. Once you step on that court and you think you can't beat a team, you've already lost. So the next time, the Mavs play the Spurs, are you going to tuck your tail between your legs because you aren't good enough?

Sorry guys but the loser mentality has gotten to you.