The King of Matchups has struck again. When the 67-win and first-seeded Dallas Mavericks drew the 42-win eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors, the thinking was “another one bites the dust.” After all, an eighth seed had never beaten a one seed in a seven game series. (Only the eighth-seeded New York Knicks in 1999 and Denver Nuggets in 1994 beat their top-seeded opponents - both matchups were five game series).
But this was no ordinary one versus eight series - this was Don Nelson, the teacher, versus the Avery Johnson, the student. Avery Johnson played for Don Nelson in Golden State and Dallas and coached under Nelly in Dallas. The Warriors won the series 4-2 and were the clearly the better team. To put this in perspective, despite having the seventh-best regular season in league history, Dallas was a weak 67-win team. Dirk Nowitzki is a bona-fide star and probably the league MVP, but the Mavericks’ next best players Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse are far less talented than players 2-4 on other 60-plus win teams.
What Don Nelson has always been able to do is to create and exploit favorable matchups. From establishing Paul Pressey as a point-forward in the 80s for the Milwaukee Bucks to ‘Run TMC’ with Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin (current Warriors GM) in Golden State in the late 80s and early 90s, to the current Mavericks team he crafted, coach Nelson has been a master at generating favorable matchups, typically with smaller, more athletic shooters and scorers. Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, Matt Barnes, Monta Ellis, Mickael Pietrus and Andris Biedrins were all quicker and more athletic than their Dallas counterparts. Dallas’ three 7-footers (Dirk Nowitzki, DeSagana Diop and Erik Dampier) were ineffective against smaller players and Dirk once again tried to shoot his was to prosperity over smaller defenders. Dirk’s shooting, however, was off this series (38% from the field and 21% from 3-pt range versus 50% from the field and 42% from three during the season). To seal the deal, Baron Davis was the best player on the court, and at times, Stephen Jackson was the second best player.
So why doesn’t everyone play Nelly Ball? While Nelson’s matchup formula is great for a short stretch - a few games, a series or two - it has proven ineffective when trying to win the four playoff series needed for an NBA championship. Nelly’s teams have never had much success advancing deep into the playoffs, though to his defense he was going up against some formidable competition - Boston and Philadelphia (80s with the Bucks), LA, Portland, Seattle (90s Warriors), and LA, San Antonio (00s Mavs). In fact, it was only with Avery Johnson and his defensive philosophy did the Mavs make it to the NBA Finals last year, the year after Nelly stepped down as Mavs coach.
The irony of this series is that Dallas’ only nightmare matchup was Golden State (Warriors easily won the regular season series), and the Warriors may not be able to beat any other team in Western Conference Playoffs. The lesson for coaches and players is that for a short period, matchups are critical. If your team has a weakness or bad matchup and another team can take advantage of it, you might be bumped out of the playoffs even if you have the better team on paper.
But this was no ordinary one versus eight series - this was Don Nelson, the teacher, versus the Avery Johnson, the student. Avery Johnson played for Don Nelson in Golden State and Dallas and coached under Nelly in Dallas. The Warriors won the series 4-2 and were the clearly the better team. To put this in perspective, despite having the seventh-best regular season in league history, Dallas was a weak 67-win team. Dirk Nowitzki is a bona-fide star and probably the league MVP, but the Mavericks’ next best players Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse are far less talented than players 2-4 on other 60-plus win teams.
What Don Nelson has always been able to do is to create and exploit favorable matchups. From establishing Paul Pressey as a point-forward in the 80s for the Milwaukee Bucks to ‘Run TMC’ with Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin (current Warriors GM) in Golden State in the late 80s and early 90s, to the current Mavericks team he crafted, coach Nelson has been a master at generating favorable matchups, typically with smaller, more athletic shooters and scorers. Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, Matt Barnes, Monta Ellis, Mickael Pietrus and Andris Biedrins were all quicker and more athletic than their Dallas counterparts. Dallas’ three 7-footers (Dirk Nowitzki, DeSagana Diop and Erik Dampier) were ineffective against smaller players and Dirk once again tried to shoot his was to prosperity over smaller defenders. Dirk’s shooting, however, was off this series (38% from the field and 21% from 3-pt range versus 50% from the field and 42% from three during the season). To seal the deal, Baron Davis was the best player on the court, and at times, Stephen Jackson was the second best player.
So why doesn’t everyone play Nelly Ball? While Nelson’s matchup formula is great for a short stretch - a few games, a series or two - it has proven ineffective when trying to win the four playoff series needed for an NBA championship. Nelly’s teams have never had much success advancing deep into the playoffs, though to his defense he was going up against some formidable competition - Boston and Philadelphia (80s with the Bucks), LA, Portland, Seattle (90s Warriors), and LA, San Antonio (00s Mavs). In fact, it was only with Avery Johnson and his defensive philosophy did the Mavs make it to the NBA Finals last year, the year after Nelly stepped down as Mavs coach.
The irony of this series is that Dallas’ only nightmare matchup was Golden State (Warriors easily won the regular season series), and the Warriors may not be able to beat any other team in Western Conference Playoffs. The lesson for coaches and players is that for a short period, matchups are critical. If your team has a weakness or bad matchup and another team can take advantage of it, you might be bumped out of the playoffs even if you have the better team on paper.
2 comments:
B-Diddy is the Man. He's too hard to guard. He had a raw deal at the end in Charlote / New Orleans but now he's showing his stuff with the Warriors. Think how dominant he would be if he could stay healthy
Go Bulls! Chi-town Baby!
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