Nelson playing games
Don Nelson stood in the glare of the TV lights about 90 minutes before Game 1 and did his best to sound sincere.
"I don't know about Baron," he said.
Nelson was talking about Baron Davis, his point guard who had tweaked his hamstring four days earlier during Game 6 of the Warriors' first-round series against Dallas.
Nelson said that Matt Barnes, another one of his players with a hamstring problem, would play. But with a look of consternation on his face - the same one Dallas owner Mark Cuban wore throughout the first round - Nelson sounded extremely concerned about Davis' ability to be effective, if he could play at all.
Hey, why wouldn't Nelson be worried?
Davis was the catalyst of the Warriors' first-round win over the favored Mavericks and, if could not play, Golden State's high-powered offense would lose it's engine.
In the first quarter, Davis appeared to have a difficult time exploding with the ball, getting to the heart of the defense and creating shots for his teammates and himself.
Golden State scored 35 points in the first quarter, but Davis didn't have a point. He took only two shots, missing both. He had as many turnovers as assists (two).
Maybe Nelson wasn't playing poker during his pregame interview, I thought. Maybe Davis was playing with a limiting hamstring injury.
On the other hand . . .
In the second quarter, Davis scored 17 points, made five of his seven shots and got to the foul line seven times.
Actually, I thought Davis looked more winded than sore at halftime, which could be a byproduct of his hamstring injury. Davis wasn't wasn't quite as spectacular in the second half as he was in the second quarter, either.
But unable to play?
As Davis had said prior to Monday morning's shootaround, "It's the playoffs."
As Nelson was thinking before the game, "I wonder if these guys are buying this?"
- Steve Luhm
"I don't know about Baron," he said.
Nelson was talking about Baron Davis, his point guard who had tweaked his hamstring four days earlier during Game 6 of the Warriors' first-round series against Dallas.
Nelson said that Matt Barnes, another one of his players with a hamstring problem, would play. But with a look of consternation on his face - the same one Dallas owner Mark Cuban wore throughout the first round - Nelson sounded extremely concerned about Davis' ability to be effective, if he could play at all.
Hey, why wouldn't Nelson be worried?
Davis was the catalyst of the Warriors' first-round win over the favored Mavericks and, if could not play, Golden State's high-powered offense would lose it's engine.
In the first quarter, Davis appeared to have a difficult time exploding with the ball, getting to the heart of the defense and creating shots for his teammates and himself.
Golden State scored 35 points in the first quarter, but Davis didn't have a point. He took only two shots, missing both. He had as many turnovers as assists (two).
Maybe Nelson wasn't playing poker during his pregame interview, I thought. Maybe Davis was playing with a limiting hamstring injury.
On the other hand . . .
In the second quarter, Davis scored 17 points, made five of his seven shots and got to the foul line seven times.
Actually, I thought Davis looked more winded than sore at halftime, which could be a byproduct of his hamstring injury. Davis wasn't wasn't quite as spectacular in the second half as he was in the second quarter, either.
But unable to play?
As Davis had said prior to Monday morning's shootaround, "It's the playoffs."
As Nelson was thinking before the game, "I wonder if these guys are buying this?"
- Steve Luhm
12:38 AM
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