Nellie out a couple of weeks

[Murphy3]

TheTicket reported that Nellie could miss up to a couple of weeks with rotator cuff surgery...

[mavs413]

I just saw on ESPNews that he will be out 2 weeks, but he will coach the game tonight.

[Dooby]

How long before he's throwing on a mound?

[Dooby]

7 pretty winnable games. The anti-Nellie faction is gonna have a fieldday when these two weeks are up. Oh wait, that is me. Woohoo!

[Murphy3]

Does this guy want to coach anymore? You've gotta think that the only reason he's around anymore is to get the elusive title. He doesn't seem to have the stomach anymore for the every day grind of the NBA.

[Simon2]

I say take as much time as needed. That way, he'll be well rested when the playoffs come along. Then again, why two weeks? Its a shoulder injury. Maybe he can't write out the plays?

[u2sarajevo]

I agree Murph. This seems awful fishy. Either he was planning on doing his best Bobby Knight impersonation during games or there is an ulterior motive at play.

[sike]

what? he can't sit on the bench with a cast or sling?

[The Miles]

Guess all of those 12 oz curls finally caught up to him.

[madape]

Originally posted by: Dooby
7 pretty winnable games. The anti-Nellie faction is gonna have a fieldday when these two weeks are up. Oh wait, that is me. Woohoo!

Yeah, Avery did such a great job against the Spurs a few weeks back, that the Mavericks decided to spend the REST of the season getting blown out by 20.

[XERXES]

Didn't Del Harris have the same surgery a couple of weeks ago? Interesting.

I think they are bending over backwards to try to find opportunities to let Avery coach. The timing of this sounds too convenient.

[DubOverdose]

Well, I think we'll see if we need Nellie to keep on coaching or if it is his time to go. I'm guessing he'll be out for so long because he won't have energy to work with the players, go on road trips, etc. after surgery.

[Bookit]

This is weird. Why would an active NBA coach decide to have non critical surgery during the season? Couldn't this wait until the offseason?

[HexNBA]

a 90% torn rotator cuff doesnt sound all that great to me personally Bookit, I imagine it involves a lot of pain.

[V2M]

Must be hard opening all those Scotch bottles every night. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[HexNBA]

hehe

[Bookit]

Originally posted by: HexNBA
a 90% torn rotator cuff doesnt sound all that great to me personally Bookit, I imagine it involves a lot of pain.

Break out the Vicoden!

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

[chumdawg]

Originally posted by: Murphy3
Does this guy want to coach anymore? You've gotta think that the only reason he's around anymore is to get the elusive title. He doesn't seem to have the stomach anymore for the every day grind of the NBA.

I kinda like Nellie, but I think you may be dead on here. He's often talking about being "too old" to do certain things anymore. I think he's still got passion for the game. He seemed very into the Spurs game last week, for example. But the daily grind thing...yeah, you may be right.

God bless ya, Nellie. I hope you find some peace!

[Member]

I thought he got the injury from flailing his arms during games when he realizes his schemes don't work.

[DubOverdose]

Originally posted by: Bookit

Break out the Vicoden!

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

Vicoden+after game beer(s)/keg(s)+Nellie=Bad

[WildArkieBoy]

Cuban and Nellie appear to be on a collision course. While Avery continues to be forcefed NBA headcoaching, Cuban offers faint praise for the lil' general, but keeps his options open.

My perception is that Nellie's belief in A.J. is genuine. The two-week sick leave may be part of the selling job to Cuban. So far A.J. is 0-1 as headman.

A tiny subconscious factor may be the undoing of the tiny racial barb hurled so inelegantly at Nellie in a former friend's bio.

In any event, A.J. will not come out the loser in any of this. His potential suitors are almost leaguewide.



WAB

[Murphy3]

Originally posted by: chumdawg

I kinda like Nellie, but I think you may be dead on here. He's often talking about being "too old" to do certain things anymore. I think he's still got passion for the game. He seemed very into the Spurs game last week, for example. But the daily grind thing...yeah, you may be right.

God bless ya, Nellie. I hope you find some peace!

I think Nellie is greatness. I'm not sold sold on him as a coach on anything other than an underdog team. But, as a man, the guy seems to be nothing short of greatness. I wish him well, but I don't know how much his heart is into the day to day handling of a team.

[bernardos70]

I think he should suck it up and coach through the pain.

[XERXES]

Again, I'll state that this is a conspiracy. The Mavs needed a roster spot to magically appear at the beginning of the season. They worked out an agreement w/ AJ to retire. Part of that agreement was to let him be the head coach for a handful of games throughout the regular season. They would be grilled in the press if they admitted this. The rotator cuff surgery (in the MIDDLE of the season) is just another way to get AJ his necessary games as the head coach to fulfill the agreement they made so that he would retire at the beginning of the season.

[kriD]

Nelson has confidence in Avery

By Art Garcia
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - Mavericks lead assistant Avery Johnson has already coached games this season, but his upcoming stretch will be different.

With coach Don Nelson set for shoulder surgery Thursday, Johnson assumes the reins for at least the next two weeks. Johnson led the Mavs for three games this season -- San Antonio, Atlanta and Milwaukee -- with Nelson at his side. Johnson also filled in once when Nelson was ejected less than two minutes into a game at Minnesota.

"I'm light years ahead of where I was in terms of really understanding this coaching profession, understanding how to manage games and situations, so I'm much more confident than I was," Johnson said.

Depending on Nelson's recovery time, Johnson could be the acting coach for about 10 games. So, does Nelson have any qualms about turning the team over to Johnson for an extended period?

"How can you not trust Avery Johnson? That guy has the whole deal, the whole package going for him," Nelson said. "I've gotten more fun out of this year watching him mature as a coach than anything else I've done. That's really been the fun part of this year for me."

Dealing with the pain in his shoulder hasn't. Nelson, 64, first injured his right shoulder in college at Iowa. He had surgery 15 years ago to remove calcium deposits, at which time doctors first found a rotator cuff tear.

He started experiencing pain about eight years ago, and an MRI exam Monday revealed a 90-percent tear.

"It's just hanging by a thread. Might as well do it now," Nelson said of the surgery. "It gets so painful that I haven't slept in a long time."

But that's the least of his concerns.

"Can't even shoot shuffleboard correctly anymore," Nelson said. "Have to shoot left-handed."

Mavs player development coach Greg Dreiling had similar surgery in the late 1990s. Not only is the surgery difficult, Dreiling said, but the rehab is excruciating. Nelson won't be able to fully extend his arm for months.

Welcome back

His name might not be familiar to fans, but Ray Johnston received a warm welcome in the locker room after the Mavs' 137-120 victory over Washington.

Johnston, 25, won a spot on the 2004 Mavs summer league team as the standout performer at the Hoop-It-Up 3-on-3 tournament. His professional dreams ended shortly after summer league ended.

After an otherwise routine injury in a pickup game refused to heal, doctors found out Johnston had leukemia. He spent 132 days in a Dallas hospital receiving treatment, including three rounds of chemotherapy. According to Donnie Nelson, Mavs president of basketball operations, Johnston flat-lined on a couple occasions. He also lost several toes.

Out of the hospital since Jan. 5, Johnston and his mother attended their first Mavs game Tuesday night. Johnston posed for pictures with Mavs officials and his former summer league teammates after the game.

Briefly

• Mavs center Erick Dampier could be dealing with the bone bruise on left knee for longer than expected. Dampier played only 12 minutes Tuesday, and noticeably favored the knee. He could miss Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

• Mavs forward Josh Howard returned after missing three games with an upper respiratory infection. He scored 10 points in 22 minutes against Washington.

[dirk2003]

Avery should also be credited that Minesota win.

[sp3nc3r13]

i think in the end it is a good thing to have a.j step in as our little interim headcoach, because down the stretch, we are going to want to know if he is for real, the real future coach of the mavericks.

[V2M]

"I've gotten more fun out of this year watching him mature as a coach than anything else I've done. That's really been the fun part of this year for me." - Nellie

Dirk's having an MVP like year. Josh is maturing into one of the best 2-way players in the league. We have promising new PGs and Centers. We are for the first team in recent years playing well both-sides of the court. And the most fun that Nellie had this year is watching AJ mature as a coach. If that's not "short-timer's" disease, I don't know what is.

Btw, he had this problem for 8 years and he chooses the middle of the season to get it fixed?!

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: XERXES
Again, I'll state that this is a conspiracy. The Mavs needed a roster spot to magically appear at the beginning of the season. They worked out an agreement w/ AJ to retire. Part of that agreement was to let him be the head coach for a handful of games throughout the regular season. They would be grilled in the press if they admitted this. The rotator cuff surgery (in the MIDDLE of the season) is just another way to get AJ his necessary games as the head coach to fulfill the agreement they made so that he would retire at the beginning of the season.

That's exactly what I think happen. I think the only way for AJ to come to the Mavs as an assistant was if he was able to be a head coach for some games. I think that was the only way to keep him from going to the Spurs or the Nuggets.