Notebook: Nelson will give Johnson control against Spurs

[MavsFanFinley]

Notebook: Nelson will give Johnson control against Spurs

By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Avery Johnson is the heir apparent. That will become even more evident Tuesday, when he will coach the Mavericks against San Antonio.

"It will be good for him," said coach Don Nelson, who will cede control of the game to give Johnson experience. "He could be a head coach tomorrow. He's got the whole package. He has great ideas. I definitely use more of the things he says than the things I say."

Nelson picked Tuesday's game because Johnson is familiar with the Spurs after all the years he spent in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich. Nelson will sit on the bench and serve as the assistant.

"I'll give him my opinion and he'll have to make the call," Nelson said. "Just like when he gives me his opinion, I reject some of them. He can reject mine."

Nelson said he intends to give control of the team to Johnson five or six times during the season.

"This is the most fun I've had coaching I can remember," Nelson said. "Just being around Avery, watching him grow... . He's such a great guy along with a great coaching talent. I'm having a ball. The older I get, the more he can do."

Daniels hurting:

Guard Marquis Daniels continues to be bothered by a sprained ankle. Mavericks coach Don Nelson said Daniels was only about 70 percent in Saturday's win over Memphis.

"He said that much?" said Daniels, who had two points in 22 minutes. "I wish. It's internal. It's not swelling. That's the good part."

Daniels said he hoped to play Tuesday against San Antonio.

"I don't know," he said. "I think I can play, but I don't know."

Coaching carrousel:

The Grizzlies punctuated the evening with several video tributes to Hubie Brown, who stepped down Thursday. Meanwhile, the man who's likely to replace Brown as coach, Mike Fratello, was in town to meet with president of basketball operations Jerry West.

Fratello last coached during the 1998-99 season with Cleveland. He has ties to Brown and was regarded as the leading candidate for the Grizzlies job a few years ago before Brown emerged.

"I'm shocked it's been so long since he's had an opportunity to get back in," Don Nelson said. "I'd say it's about time. He gets the most out of every team he's ever coached. He didn't have the personnel to run in Cleveland. You've got to give the coach the credit to get the max out of his team. I thought he did that in Cleveland, and he still got fired. I always had to over-prepare for the Cleveland games when he was coaching."

Briefly:

Center Erick Dampier, who is from near Jackson, Miss., had a large group of tickets spread out in front of his locker before the game. The final count: 25. "It would have been more, but my family is in Dallas."... Don Nelson concluded training camp by saying D.J. Mbenga would be his backup center. It hasn't worked out. Mbenga had played only 27 minutes entering Saturday's game. "I was a bit premature on that statement, probably," Nelson said. "He must have excited me for a day or two. He's just another rookie. I've got one [Devin Harris ] I'm playing already. Two is a bit too many to play consistently."

[fin4life]

thats pretty interesting. I think that this might be the last year for Nellie.... it sounds like Avery will be ready by next year.

[rabbitproof]

This is good stuff.

What other organization would do this sort of thing, show this kind of camaraderie and lack of ego - in ALL of sports?

Also, we are attempting, and we'll see if we succeed, the impossible: simultaneously making a legitmate championship run while developing for the future.

[dude1394]

I don't see why he wants to play around with a game like san antonio.

[The Miles]

Play around? Avery knows how to beat the Spurs.

[acebball]

The dude is right...and this practice coaching game against your most bitter rival is for the birds...Nellie needs to go...I'm all behind AJ..but didn't we let AJ "practice" coach in the preseason against the Spurs...Why don't the Suns let Sun Nash coach against the Mavs??? AJ hasn't played in SA for years...

[sike]

I definitely use more of the things he says than the things I say."

scary for the present promising for the future...

[sike]

Daniels hurting:

Guard Marquis Daniels continues to be bothered by a sprained ankle. Mavericks coach Don Nelson said Daniels was only about 70 percent in Saturday's win over Memphis.

"He said that much?" said Daniels, who had two points in 22 minutes. "I wish. It's internal. It's not swelling. That's the good part."

Daniels said he hoped to play Tuesday against San Antonio.

"I don't know," he said. "I think I can play, but I don't know."

GET HEALTHY!

[HexNBA]

Originally posted by: dude1394
I don't see why he wants to play around with a game like san antonio.

Because its early in the season I guess.

[acebball]

Right...and these games don't count in the standings when we want home court in the playoffs...I'm thinking we should give Dirk the next two months off so he will be rested for the playoffs and give Dickau the chance to play and grow as a human being...he's a great kid...

[Mavs Rule]

The good thing about this is that I don't think AJ will be as tempted to use Henderson as a center. Avery is not going to play much smallball.

[seal614]

um this is a good thing... given all the Nelly bashing around here why the complaints?! AJ is plenty capable.

- Brian

[mavsfanforever]

Its about time. Hopefully Avery rejects Nellie's ideas.

[MavKikiNYC]

Typical Nellie hoakum.

Stand aside already, FatMan.

[bcrav4]

so....that's where DJ went.

[fin4life]

I really dont understand the Nellie bashing, or at least dont understand why he is being bashed for this. He is doing what all of the nellie-haters want.... yet he is still critisized. He is a great coach and is very creative. There is a reason he is #2 all time in wins. He knows that his time is coming to an end, and he is doing everything in his power to leave this organization in a good place. He has developed a great GM in Donnie Nelson and is now grooming a coach. We should be thanking him

[vinnieponte]

but do we honestly think it will make a big difference against a team like san antonio?

[dude1394]

I guess I would like to hear about some other coach that has allowed his team's assistant coach the team against their number 1 rival. I for one think it's silly. You could argue that it tells the players that this game is SO important that the assistant coach will do a better job OR.....

It tells the players that I don't think it's that important so I'll let the assistant coach it...

Or it tells the players that you are going to get your rears handed to you and I'll make it a farce to take the pressure off.

Heck I don't know, but I can't quite make the connection to how this will enable us to beat san antionio. If nellie thinks AJ is a better coach, then step the heck down and let him coach.

[grndmstr_c]

Since everyone seems to be freaking out about this I'll just go on record as saying I don't have a huge problem with it. Nellie's job as head coach is to find the best way to make use of all the tools he has, both the players and the coaching staff. I see this as just one example of him attempting to do that, albeit in a way that's characteristically different, and since I don't see anything about it that's too terribly wrong (Nellie's still going to be there, AJ's by all accounts capable), I'm going to be looking forward to seeing how AJ handles things rather than getting my panties in a bunch over Nellie's lack of conventionality.

[dude1394]

I resent that panties in a bunch remark. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I much prefer panties in a wad.

[EricaLubarsky]

Nellie is full of brave, new ideas.

I hear the next idea is that it's better for the team if he "coach" the team from Hawaii, and communicate with AJ over the phone after the game. Telephones are one of the tools at Nellie's disposal.

[fin4life]

Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
Nellie is full of brave, new ideas.

I hear the next idea is that it's better for the team if he "coach" the team from Hawaii, and communicate with AJ over the phone after the game. Telephones are one of the tools at Nellie's disposal.

EL, I know you hate Nellie. I know that you want Avery Johnson to be the coach of this team ASAP. But he isnt quite ready and Nellie is doing whatever he can to accelerate Avery's development. I think it would be ridiculous to make Avery our head coach next year if he had no experience on the sidelines as the head coach and only 1 year as an assistant. Nellie is trying to give him a lot of responbility so that he will be ready to be the leading man next year.

Nellie is ready to retire to Maui, this is becoming clear. He is only trying to leave the mavericks in the best possibile condition that he can.

[MavKikiNYC]

I bet if the Mavs win that Nellie will want to attribute it to his unorthodox coaching arrangement.

Wonder if the win would go to Nellie's all-time record.

[MavKikiNYC]

DDP.

[cheesestar]

im not sure to think if this is a smart move or not

pro: avery might know the spurs plays better. might turn out to be a flat out better coach.

con: he might totally blow up and coach terribly

oh well, hoping for the best

[chumdawg]

Given that the plan was to have The Little General take the reins five or six times this season, it seems natural that this would be one of those situations. It's early in the year, and there could be no more ideal opponent for TLG to cut his teeth on.

I agree with Rabbitproof. It would be awfully hard to find a parallel to this, in all of sports. Give Nellie props. It speaks to his own self-confidence. It speaks to his prioritizing the needs of the franchise over the needs of himself. And all in all, it may prove to be a unique motivational tool, at a time of the season when extraordinary motivational tools are hard to come by.

The anti-Nellie sentiment on this board truly amuses me. Mostly, I think it's the closet coaches who complain. In their infinite coaching wisdom, garnered over who knows how many years of coaching at who knows what level, they can sit in front of their own television sets and dream up better ways. I am reminded of Johnathan Swift:

"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign: that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Wear the hat if it fits.

[seelenjaeger]

Given the way the last game vs. San Antonio went down the drain this is probably the most easy situation to take over the coaching for the first time.

Dirk and the guys are seeking for revenge, and will be hot hot hot. If it doesnt work out fine, Nellie will take responsibility for it, if it works fine, he´ll let Avery get the applause, while the Little General will greatfully distribute it to Nellie and the Team.

I think it´s a very proud and courageous way to handle the situation and give AJ full support.

One more thing: it´s easier to watch players and their adjustments to your orders if you´re not in the front row. So the current position of AJ allows him to create a precise view of the teams chemistry and abilities before taking over. That´s pretty unique.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

If AJ gives us a 15+ point win over SA, and Nellie says he could be coach tomorrow. Why not just make him the head coach?

[kg_veteran]

I like the move by Nellie. To me, we finally have a club that APPEARS to be trying to get ready for April rather than gimmick their way to wins in November.

Nellie knows that Avery's going to take over when he's gone. He also knows that it MAY be a year or two before the young guys (Howard, Daniels, Harris) mature to the point that the team is ready to win a title. So, he's not only developing the players, he's developing the coaches who will be here in a year or two. Fairly selfless move, I think.

Three things I don't want to hear (but will hear) after Tuesday's game:

1. If we win, that Avery should take over immediately. Sure, it will be really nice if Avery can coach the team to a win against a top notch opponent like the Spurs, but I prefer for Avery to at least coach this year in an assistant's capacity before taking over the reins for good next year.

2. If we lose, that Avery will never be a good coach. One win won't prove that Avery is ready to take over, but one loss won't prove he should never take over, either.

3. If we lose, that this proves that Nelson is underrated, underappreciated, etc. If we lose, Nellie apologists will argue that people always view the grass on the other side as greener when it really isn't. In my opinion, one game won't prove anything about the color of the grass.

[Rod1975]

Avery is great for the Spurs because he knows Pop so well, but we need Nellie for the other 28 teams.

[Dirkenstien]

This is a good move. This creates a good learning opportunity for our future head coach and gives him a chance to get a little more experience through coaching against one of the league's best.






Here's to seeing Avery's record go up to 1-1 on Tuesday!

[GermanBlitzkrieg]

Don't forget, Nelson's going to be on the bench. Not in Hawaii. I'm sure he'll have plenty of impact, if he deems it necessary.

[SeriousSummer]

I doubt it will have much impact on the game--not like Avery's going to put in a whole new set of plays before tomorrow.

The basics of a San Antonio/Dallas match up (they get it to Duncan, we get it to Dirk) have been set for a number of years now.

If anything, Avery may handle the rotation and the matchups a little differently in the game and he might change the play calling a little (but, truth to tell, it looks to me like Dirk is calling most of the Mavericks's plays--he sure looks like he's telling the guys where to go, and I think that's good).

The beauty of this is that Avery (assuming he's known about this for some time) will have had a bunch of extra preparation time, he'll bring every bit of concentration he has for this first test, the players (assuming, as I do, that they like Avery) will make an extra effort to make him look good, it'll irritate Pops, Nellie's still there if Avery needs him or forgets something, and afterwards Avery will have time to study what he did, what he might have done and how it all worked.

I think it's creative (no doubt why Nellie likes it), is as likely to help as hurt during the game, and gives Avery a real chance to learn. Anybody who's ever trained someone for the same job as they have knows that at some point you have to give the person a chance--even if you think you could still do it better. The NBA method of throwing in a new coach without any real at meaningful game preparation is basically silly. I predict that what Nellie does here will be standard practice in a few years.

Teams won't want to hire an assistant as their new head coach unless he's done this and top assistants will want a promise of coaching a few games before taking a job. Actually, thinking about it, this sounds like a combination of Nellie's creativity and Cuban's forward looking business approach.

[rabbitproof]

AJ's title of 'assistant coach' doesn't describe his role accurately. What he really is is "future head coach in training". Part of his training is working as an assistant coach to Nellie but that should not be all of it.

What Nellie is doing for AJ/with AJ is typical mentor-apprentice behavior in the business world... for some reason, it's not as common in sports.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: kg_veteran
I like the move by Nellie. To me, we finally have a club that APPEARS to be trying to get ready for April rather than gimmick their way to wins in November.

Nellie knows that Avery's going to take over when he's gone. He also knows that it MAY be a year or two before the young guys (Howard, Daniels, Harris) mature to the point that the team is ready to win a title. So, he's not only developing the players, he's developing the coaches who will be here in a year or two. Fairly selfless move, I think.

Three things I don't want to hear (but will hear) after Tuesday's game:

1. If we win, that Avery should take over immediately. Sure, it will be really nice if Avery can coach the team to a win against a top notch opponent like the Spurs, but I prefer for Avery to at least coach this year in an assistant's capacity before taking over the reins for good next year.

2. If we lose, that Avery will never be a good coach. One win won't prove that Avery is ready to take over, but one loss won't prove he should never take over, either.

3. If we lose, that this proves that Nelson is underrated, underappreciated, etc. If we lose, Nellie apologists will argue that people always view the grass on the other side as greener when it really isn't. In my opinion, one game won't prove anything about the color of the grass.

Genius. I wholeheartedly agree.

We can talk about the decision that Nellie made, and we can discuss the similarities and differences between Nellie and AJ (in two games), but there really won't be grounds for discussing who the better coach is.

I have my opinion, but I certainly don't think that one game will give us any significant data toward determining who the better coach is.

[chumdawg]

EL, I don't doubt that AJ is filled with coaching potential. But don't you think it's a little premature to be rating him as a coach already? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I wanna see what AJ is gonna do with Damp. He better tell him to beat up on Duncan and Rasho. Although, since it's the spurs, the refs probably will call light wrist slaps.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: chumdawg
EL, I don't doubt that AJ is filled with coaching potential. But don't you think it's a little premature to be rating him as a coach already? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

I didn't know that I rated him as a coach. I prefer him, because what I have seen from Nelson, and the spirit that has been documented by every team he has been with. He is a true uniter, and he's boring with his substitutions. With a traditional team, AJ knows better how to use them. Nelson makes aggrivating subs some times, and thinks that Dampier should get the first five shots, and then shouldnt have anything made for him the rest of the game. I'd rather see Dirk get the first five and Damp loaded any time he actually has position.