The Nellie Dilemma, and a Tired Thanksgiving Tradition

In today's San Francisco Chronicle, the great Bruce Jenkins wrote a superb column urging the Golden State Warriors to replace Don Nelson with current assistant coach Keith Smart. This comes after the Warriors stunned the Mavericks in Dallas last night with only six players under the guidance of Smart, who is assuming head coaching duties on the two-game road swing through Texas as Don Nelson recovers from pneumonia. In last night's 111-103 victory, the shorthanded Warriors looked about as rejuvenated and energetic as they have looked in quite some time, even conjuring memories of the "We Believe" team in 2007 that upset the Mavs in the playoffs. Monta Ellis was brilliant, and Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph both had their most complete games of the season. Even Vladimir Radmonovic was a key contributor. Simply put, it was the most satisfying win of the year.



As great as the win was, however, it puts the Warriors in a difficult position. I completely agree with Jenkins-----it is time to reward Keith Smart with the head coaching position. Nellie has looked tired all season. He doesn't appear to be motivated, and he has lost the respect and admiration of his players, as evidenced by a recent quarrel with Monta Ellis. Keith Smart, meanwhile, has the potential to be an excellent head coach in the NBA. He has been learning under the tutelage of Nelson for many years now, and the time has come for him to take that next step. However, the W's do not want to simply shove Don Nelson out the door. Nellie has done so many wonderful things for the franchise that Golden State owes him a respectful exit. Making matters worse, Nellie now has pneumonia. With the holidays approaching, wouldn't it seem a little bit cruel to give Nellie the ax as he is horribly sick? The best case scenario would be for Nellie to gracefully resign and turn over coaching duties to Smart. This would be best for the team, and Nellie would be able to exit on his own terms. But due to Nellie's trademark stubbornness, something tells me that such a development is unlikely.



As a diehard Warriors fan, I am ready for Keith Smart to usher in a new era of Warriors basketball. I'm just not sure if we can have that happen without alienating one of our all-time great coaches.



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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means a healthy serving of turkey, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and the Lions and Cowboys. The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have become an annual tradition on Turkey Day, and tomorrow will be no different, as the Lions suit up against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers while the Cowboys meet the Raiders. Many people would argue that Thanksgiving just would not be the same without the Lions and Cowboys playing on our television sets. I beg to differ.

I love watching football on Thanksgiving, and I will be watching tomorrow. But this is a tradition that needs to be changed. The NFL has a golden opportunity on Thanksgiving Day to showcase its product, but year after year, we are forced to endure the awfulness of the Lions and the predictability of the Cowboys. Granted, the Giants and Broncos play tomorrow night, and that should be an interesting game. Sadly, though, that game airs on NFL Network, so a significant portion of the country won't be able to watch the game. But during the daytime, when families gather round the television to watch some football, all that we will be able to see is Dante Culpepper throwing incomplete passes to Calvin Johnson, and Tony Romo destroying the lousy Raiders secondary. A football-loving nation deserves better than that.