KD swings & misses this time, on both Don Nelson and Marco Belinelli
khandor giveth … and, sometimes, khandor taketh away.
No one’s perfect. That’s a fact of life; Kelly Dwyer, included.
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Anthony Morrow hits for 47 summer league points
And the name I kept hearing was “Marco Belinelli,” who played exceedingly well in Golden State’s 2007 summer league outfit.
Here’s the problem with that. Marco’s international stats translated horribly to the NBA. He was not, nor should have ever been, on any team’s radar. The Warriors, smitten with the idea of an international big guard named “Marco,” went ahead anyway. And a month after drafting the guy, seemed pretty happy when he went off in the NBA-sponsored offseason tournaments.
But Marco went right back to being Marco once the NBA season started. And it’s not a case of the guy not getting the minutes he deserved. I’m sure Belinelli is a lovely chap, but he’s not NBA material.
Morrow is. Morrow proved that in 2008-09, not in the summer leagues, and Thursday’s 47 should be a reminder of such.
The Warriors, who I must remind you are “a joke of an organization,” probably don’t want to know. Not while Nelson is running things, especially. He gets bored, and he plays to the ignorance of fair weather fans.
The ignorance, and this isn’t their fault (they’d rather pay attention to the 49ers) that tells you that Morrow’s hot 2008-09 start was a bit of a fluke, and it’s OK to slowly decrease his minutes until you get to 7.6 minutes per game in February.
(Well, Kelly, he shot 36 percent in February. Which came first, the low minutes, or the bad shooting? Nellie’s been at this since the 1960s, and he’s reacting to Morrow’s cold touch.)
No, he’s being Nellie. You try coming off the bench for seven minutes toward the end of a 20-point loss and firing up a 24-footer two and a half hours after warming up. It’s bound to go in, no matter how good a shooter you are, about 36 percent of the time.
Of course, Morrow averaged nearly 41 minutes per game in April, but that’s how this joke of an organization works. Poorly.
The point I’m getting at is that, overall, Morrow is a stud. The guy shot 47 percent on three-pointers last year. Couple that with a 6-6 frame, and you have a player that should be starting, or at least playing more than 22 minutes a night (his average). Or, and I know I haven’t been doing this since the 1960s, playing consistent minutes, as opposed to 41 minutes in April, and 7.6 minutes in February.
The problem here is that, as unorthodox as Nellie is, the man completely falls in line with NBA orthodoxy when it comes to sitting or starting guys he likes. He’ll twist things to his advantage, every time, just as long as it leaves him looking like a plucky upstart who was thisclose to taking down the well-heeled favorite.
Morrow’s an unheralded shooter? Then you can move him around a bit. He’s always replaceable. He’ll always be on the bench, ready to shoot.
Anthony Randolph doesn’t have much of a jump shot? He hasn’t put on weight? Well, then there’s no way he can score, consistently. Even though he’s scoring, you know, pretty damn consistently. Even though he’s giving you eight and six with a block and a steal in only 18 minutes AT AGE 19, without you running any plays for him.
So just remember this, in January. Morrow’s no fluke. Randolph is still a stud. They can both play, even if they aren’t, and while Stephen Jackson is still averaging 41 minutes a night.
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FYI …
Here’s a version of the comment which was left by yours truly a few minutes ago on Ball Don’t Lie:
KD,
You are right about Anthony Morrow.
You are [really!!!] right about Anthony Randolph.
You are right about G-State, in general.
You are wrong, however, about both Don Nelson and Marco B.
Don is a terrific unorthodox coach that does things in a way that others … who are not good head coaches, in their own right … simply DO NOT understand. That said … it’s THOSE other people who are WRONG if/when they try to put down what Mr. Nelson has accomplished in this League, as a terrific head coach. He may not be YOUR kind of head coach but he is still terrific, nonetheless.
[Please Note: In the NBA, you simply DO NOT amass the number of Wins and Losses that Don Nelson has to his credit WITHOUT being an outstanding head coach.]
Likewise with Marco Belinelli … you are WRONG to think that he is NOT a NBA player. This could not possibly further from the truth actually. Marco is a perfect example of a very good basketball player who has specific strengths and weaknesses and is doomed to failure IF HE DOESN’T GET THE CHANCE TO PLAY FOR A COACH WITH WHOM HE FITS ON A PERSONAL LEVEL AND WHO APPRECIATES HIS INDIVIDUAL GAME FOR EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
Marco’s game simply doesn’t fit with who Don Nelson is, as a very good NBA head coach … but it is not correct to classify Marco as being something other than a legit NBA player.
e.g. If Marco B is traded to New York and gets the chance to function under a coach like Mike D’Antoni .. the offensive gifts that he has would have a chance to flourish.
Marco needs a change of scenery.
IMO, however, he is a totally different player than, say, JC Navarro … who is not a NBA player … and just needs a chance to strut his “stuff” on a consistent basis with a coach who isn’t looking for an “athletic stud” and will be in his corner as a STARTING POINT GUARD in the NBA.
For D’Antoni’s Knicks, Marco would be a “star” player … in the mold of a poor man’s Steve Nash.
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That said …
Kelly remains a gifted new-age sports writer who each of you should be reading on a daily basis.
He connects, with power, on a much more frequent basis than he strikes out.
Tags: Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Ball Don't Lie, Don Nelson, Golden State Warriors, Kelly Dwyer, Mike D'Antoni, New York Knicks, Stephen Jackson