Matt is the pregame and postgame analyst on Golden State Warriors telecasts for Comcast Sports Net Bay Area. Previously, he covered the Warriors for nine seasons as a traveling beat writer for the Contra Costa Times. When not watching or writing about basketball, Steinmetz is on a constant search for the Bay Area's best pickup games.

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Nellie goes further: Even 39 wins for Warriors is unrealistic

1 comment

December 2, 10:34 AM

by Matt Steinmetz, Golden State Warriors Examiner

Nellie: 39 wins out of the question

It’s not sitting well with a lot of fans, and likely some in Warriors management, that coach Don Nelson has thrown in the playoff towel this season.

And it just turned December. But that’s not the half of it.

Yes, it was disappointing what Nelson said over the weekend in New York about his team and its postseason chances.

CBS Sports link.

But to me, what Nelson snuck in last night during his pregame press conference was even more demoralizing and depressing.

Nelson was being asked about the playoffs and about why he thought the Warriors weren’t good enough to make them.

He gave a few reasons, then cut to the chase:

“If you look at our team last year, we were really good,” Nelson said. “We didn’t make the playoffs last year and we won 48 games. This team isn’t nearly as good as that one.

“How would we expect to make the playoffs with this team when we didn’t make it last year? And we had a lot of veteran players on the team. To me, it’s just common sense. That’s why I said it.”

As Nelson was saying this, I thought: “Fair enough. This isn’t a 48-win team.”

But the West isn’t what it was and there are interesting playoff scenarios setting up. Long story short, it’s not going to take 48 wins to make the playoffs. Not even close.

So I followed up: “If you knew right now 39 wins might get you into the playoffs, are they realistic then?

Answered Nellie: “No, I don’t think so.”

So, wait a minute. Not only aren’t the Warriors a playoff team, apparently they’re not even a 39-win team. At least the coach said so.

Did I miss something? Who lowered the standards that far for the 2008-09 season? And please don’t blame it all on Monta Ellis.

I’m just trying to remember how many times _ if at all _ that I heard the word “rebuilding” during training camp and into November.

I know I heard about how young the Warriors were, but I also see that three-fifths of their core is now veteran: Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Jamal Crawford.

And still, apparently, 39 wins is unattainable.

ROWELL, MULLIN AND NELSON SHARE IN BLAME FOR WARRIORS SITUATION

Topics: Don Nelson

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Comments

It took teamwork to make the Warriors this bad this fast

12 comments

December 2, 2:22 AM

It’s all their faults. All three of them.No one of them bears any less or any more responsibility than the other. Each one of the three is equally responsible for this sad, sad turn of events.Warriors president Robert Rowell, executive VP of... Read More
Topics: Chris Mullin , Don Nelson , robert rowell

Nellie addresses another active list snafu, playoff pessimism and Jamal Crawford

6 comments

December 1, 3:12 PM

Three items:First, the Warriors made a mistake when it came to their active roster against the Knicks on Saturday night. They left Marcus Williams off of it.Even though Stephen Jackson was unable to play, he was on the active list.And Williams, who was... Read More
Topics: Don Nelson , Marcus Williams , Jamal Crawford

Warriors captain Stephen Jackson addresses the "It ain't me" quote

10 comments

December 1, 2:09 PM

I had a chance to sit down with Stephen Jackson on Monday after shoot-around and talk to him about his "It ain't me" quote.That's the one he used when responding to a question about the team's lack of passing after their loss at Cleveland last... Read More
Topics: Stephen Jackson

UPDATED: Stephen Jackson in, Kelenna Azubuike out for tonight's game against Heat

8 comments

December 1, 12:56 PM

Stephen Jackson will return from a one-game absence, but Kelenna Azubuike won't play tonight against the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena.Jackson missed Saturday's game against New York because of a sprained left wrist.He participated in the team's shootaround... Read More
Topics: Stephen Jackson , Kelenna Azubuike

Stephen Jackson will play tonight against Miami Heat

2 comments

December 1, 11:48 AM

First things first ... Warriors shootaround at Oracle Arena is half over, but word is that Stephen Jackson will play tonight against the Heat at Oracle Arena.Jackson missed Saturday's game against the Knicks because of a sprained left wrist.Jackson has... Read More
Topics: Stephen Jackson

Write back at you: On trading Monta Ellis; deal with Clips; and Nellie's blog potential

10 comments

December 1, 8:55 AM

This morning, the in-box is the go-to guy ... JLIGHT WROTE: … Why would the Heat go for Monta Ellis and his contract? I don’t know, dude, you wrote in previous articles about Ellis coming back, and what it can mean to the team in terms... Read More
Topics: Don Nelson , Monta Ellis

Is Shawn Marion another player Warriors don't have wherewithal to make run at?

9 comments

November 30, 6:59 PM

Looks as if Miami is really trying to move Shawn Marion these days.(Boston Globe Link)Another guy the Warriors can’t really get in on unless they are willing to part with Monta Ellis or Anthony Randolph.Here’s what I’m submitting:... Read More
Topics: Anthony Randolph , Monta Ellis , Shawn Marion

If Nellie is throwing in playoff towel, then he needs to start playing the kids

18 comments

November 30, 10:57 AM

Warriors coach Don Nelson has been saying since training camp that it was going to be quite a challenge for his team this year.Nelson has gone out of his way to temper playoff talk and has made certain to distance the Warriors talent level from the talent... Read More
Topics: Anthony Randolph , Don Nelson , robert rowell

Problem with that loss is it gets you thinking dark thoughts about Warriors future

24 comments

November 29, 8:17 PM

The worst part about watching the Warriors' 138-125 blowout loss against the Knicks wasn't that it was disappointing or frustrating or infuriating -- or anything like that.Worst part was that it was so sad you started thinking some really dark thoughts... Read More
Topics: NBA