Nellie's scrappers losing out to Sloan's skyscrapers

[RonnieBrewer (Reverse Layup)]

Nellie's scrappers losing out to Sloan's skyscrapers
Column by Monte Poole
Article Last Updated: 05/10/2007 04:53:22 AM PDT

SALT LAKE CITY ─ Eight deep. It's all we have. That's what the man has been
saying for two weeks, ever since the first day of this NBA postseason, when
he sat on a stool at the Warriors' facility assessing his roster.

And eight players were enough to get Don Nelson and the Warriors through the
first round of the playoffs, the alarming upset of the Dallas Mavericks.

But it's not enough now. Not against the huge and tough and relentless Utah
Jazz.

The undermanned Warriors return to Oakland in desperation mode, down two
games to none after Utah's 127-117 overtime win Wednesday night in Game 2
of this Western Conference semifinal at Energy Solutions Arena.

It is indeed amazing that the Warriors were able to come as close as they
did, given they were outshot, outrebounded and outassisted.

"We're not going to win that game, but man when you get beat that bad, it's
really hard to win," Nelson said afterward. "Yet the game was there for us.
I don't know how we win this game, but it was there for us."

Until Baron Davis, trying to forge a three-point lead, missed one of two
free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining. That allowed Utah point guard Deron
Williams, contained most of the night, to shake loose and nail a jumper to
tie the game 113-113 with 2.3 seconds left and send it into overtime.

"We were in trouble and made some baskets to finish," Utah coach Jerry Sloan
said. "They missed a big free throw coming down the stretch, and that gave
us an opportunity."The Warriors were scarcely there after regulation, opening
the extra period by missing three shots and committing two turnovers.

For all the Warriors did and didn't do, it was going to be difficult for
them to win because of the things they couldn't do.

Like grow.

The Jazz are in control because they own the paint. They are delivering
punishment in every way, from angular Andrei Kirilenko's swooping and
swatting of Warriors shots, to burly Carlos Boozer's bumping and banging of
anybody who comes near him, to massive Mehmet Okur's shoving and shooting and
rarely missing.

All three of these beasts rebound, as does rugged Paul Millsap off the bench.
The Warriors were outrebounded by 18 in Game 1 (54-36) and by 28 in Game 2
(60-32)

Suddenly, size matters. And Nelson has 163 inches and almost 500 pounds of
it sitting on the bench, watching their relatively tiny teammates being cut
miniaturized by the flagpole that is the 6-foot-9, 227-pound Kirilenko when
they're not bouncing like rubber balls off Boozer (6-9, 266), Okur (6-11,
263) and Millsap (6-8, 258).

Josh Powell (6-9, 230) and Adonal Foyle (6-10, 260) may not be able to run
with Utah's bigs, but they can match body types for a few moments here and
there.

With them in mind, I asked Nelson what, if anything, he might do to narrow
the rebounding gap?

"Unless you have some ideas ... you've seen my roster," he said. "Actually
I tried to play (Al) Harrington and (Andris) Biedrins together to help the
rebounding. But Harrington is not a great rebounder."

Without naming names, Nelson indicated he's not going to start reaching down
his bench and calling upon guys who "haven't been playing." 

That would apply to Foyle and Powell, who have not been a part of this
team's late-season resurgence. They have been on the fringes, slapping backs
and leading cheers and, almost always, settling back into their seats.

There is a cold, simple reason for that. The Warriors have been more
successful without them.

It might be worth a try now, though, for they might be able to give Biedrins
and Harrington a few minutes respite from the battering and bruising.

History tells us NBA benches tend to shorten during the playoffs. Coaches
are more reluctant to trust. That's understandable. The stakes are high, so
coaches tend to stay with what works and ride it for the duration.

Which is what Nelson is doing. He said eight-deep and he has stuck to his
word.

But with Sloan going 10-deep Wednesday and his team wearing out the
Warriors, maybe this is worth rethinking, eh?

Nelson shows every sign of clinging to his principle, citing the missed
free throw as his team's undoing. It was in the final seconds.

But over the course of two games, it's a matter of one team simply being
physically dominant.

"They're just bigger, stronger and tougher than we are," Nelson acknowledged.

Not so sure about the Jazz being tougher. The Warriors would not have stayed
in this thing without being extremely resilient.

This series, only two games old, already has turned into a contest of
survival.

The court has become a jungle and the Jazz look like bears and lions and
tigers and jaguars.

The Warriors, on the other hand, look like gazelles. They'll continue to look
like prey if they don't summon some help from their bears.


Monte Poole can be reached at [phone] or by e-mail at
[e-mail]. 


                              http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_5861608 

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