Don Nelson the Mad Scientist?

[Tony tha Mavs fan]

by Larry Beil
October 30, 2003




The mad scientist is back at it again, mixing up potions and concoctions to torment the NBA.

Don Nelson is the Dr. Frankenstein of the hardwood, assembling strange and mismatched parts to generate points, points and more points. Nellie has been doing this for years, whether it's creating the concept of the point-forward or putting a 7-foot, 7-inch beanpole outside the arc to shoot threes (we love you Manute Bol, wherever you are).

The difference is that now, as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Nelson has real talent to play with. All-Stars to the left, All-Stars to the right. Nellie has more offensive material than Larry Flynt.

We're talking stacked. We're talking Pamela Anderson on THG-stacked. The Mavs made it to the Western Conference Finals last season with the Big 3 of Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki. Then, they went shopping for more scoring.

They added Antawn Jamison, who averaged 22 points per game for the Golden State Warriors last season. They traded for Antoine Walker who averaged 20 points a game for Boston last season and has never seen a shot he wouldn't take.






All of which means the Mavericks will be the NBA's most interesting chemistry experiment east of the Lakers this year.

Nelson knows a strange brew when he sees one and so far, the Mavs taste like turpentine. Asked how long it will take for the Mavs to gel, Nelson responded: "It better be soon or I'll be out in Maui."

Nellie owns 11 properties in Hawaii. And as any good realtor will tell you, it's all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

One location where Dallas did nothing to improve is underneath the hoop, periodically patrolled by Nellie's latest 7-foot, 7-inch experiment Shawn Bradley. The Mavs knew they had a glaring need for a tough, physical rebounder, so they went out and got more scorers.

To be fair, Dallas was desperately trying to sign Alonzo Mourning. But when 'Zo opted for the Nets, the Mavs opted for Plan B. "Why keep running a race you know you're gonna lose?" asks Dallas owner Mark Cuban. "Who's gonna stop Shaq? Nobody. We needed to change the rules. Instead of running straight ahead, make it an obstacle course."

The obstacle for the first few months of the season will be figuring out who plays and who sits, who shoots and who doesn't. It's a nice problem to have. On Wednesday, Dallas defeated Golden State 95-87. Jamison, once the heart and soul of the Warriors, didn't even play in the second half. "It's ironic that our leading scorer is their sixth man," Warriors coach Eric Musselman says. "Our go-to guy for 82 games is coming off the bench.''

Dallas now has at least five go-to guys, which should make for some interesting moments during the regular season. But questions about shots, minutes and chemistry are just little twists in Cuban's new obstacle course. Because this is all about what's at the finish.

"Just get me 50 wins, home-court [advantage] and a healthy [team] going into the playoffs." That's all I want," the maverick Mavericks owner says.

And his own mad scientist mixing up something new that tastes like a championship.

[kingrex]

Nelson is the "Mad Scientist". I mean what a fun team to coach. He gets to mix and match as his little scientist head desires. I just hope it doesn't blow up in the face of the mavs fans.

It will be fun to watch though!

[Chiwas]

Nelson knows a strange brew when he sees one and so far, the Mavs taste like turpentine.

We have a lot of these coaches -in my country-, who don't coach.

The obstacle for the first few months of the season will be figuring out who plays and who sits, who shoots and who doesn't.

This is a piece of cake for Nellie: everything not foreseen by his rival coaches. A nice sarcastic prove: "'It's ironic that our leading scorer is their sixth man,' Warriors coach Eric Musselman says. 'Our go-to guy for 82 games is coming off the bench.'"

Mark Cuban. "Who's gonna stop Shaq? Nobody. We needed to change the rules. Instead of running straight ahead, make it an obstacle course."

This hasn't succeed in the past. Nor the "get around the bulk". Nor the "Nellie-overwhelm-him-scoring".

There are only two left: to murder him or to buy him.