The Golden State Warriors, losers of seven in a row (including last night’s overtime thriller against the Heat), are playing terrible basketball. Injuries have killed them, and their defense is so porous that they managed to make the Knicks look like the Harlem Globetrotters a few nights ago.
Their coach, the guy who’s supposed to round up the troops and give them hope as they go forward, sounds like he’s down for the count.
Don Nelson isn’t willing to lie to others – or himself, for that matter – about his squad’s chances this year. He knows they have next-to-no shot at returning to the postseason, and he’s OK with that. From the Mercury News:
“I think we knew we were in trouble when Monta went down. Chris and I talked about it in preseason, training camp. We knew it was going to be really difficult.”
-Q: Is ownership and management on-board with your thinking? They’re OK with a non-playoff year?
Nelson: Absolutely. They would probably want me to be more positive. But I kind of like to say it the way it is. That’s the way I see it. And we’re going to get better. But I think there are too many obstacles to have that as a goal this year.
Honesty is the best policy, I guess. However, good luck convincing the fans to bother showing up to the arena now that they know how you truly feel about things.
The good news for Golden State, is that Nellie says he has no intention of walking away from his new deal with the ballclub.
