DON NELSON

So the force was with us. . . . Let me put in a word for Monta, how well he’s playing and would like to somehow get him considered to be an All-Star this year. He’s playing as well as anybody in basketball right now and carrying a team every night, very difficult to do, and also has to guard tough opponents. So anyway, just a word there, if you would, please?

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Transcribed from CSN Bay Area’s broadcast, it’s the Don Nelson Show. (Don’t worry, it’s short and to the point.)

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These are the times I’m glad I’m not on the beat any more. Here’s almost the entirety of Don Nelson’s post-game presser:

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Since Don Nelson has generally eschewed the Bay Area print media in favor of his own radio show on the friendly confines of KNBR, his 15 minutes a week with Tom Tolbert and Ralph Barbieri have become a must-listen for Warriors fans.

– Geoff

RB: I see where you said Randolph is probably taller than anybody I’ve got on the team right now, and he’s still growing. Maybe eventually center will be his position. I don’t know. I thought we were struggling between a 3 and a 4, and now 5 comes into the picture, too?

DN: Well, 5’s the easiest position to play. That’s why I had Tolbert play there.

TT: Thanks, I appreciate that.

DN: The same shots you get against a 4 are more open against a 5. It’s more clear cut. If you’ve got shooters around the court, your screen-and-roll game, you’re going to be open in the paint. And if you have the ability that Randolph has — he’s got good hands, he’s got a really good hop and he’s long, so there’ll be some easy baskets there for him. I don’t know where his future’s going. I think it’s really bright, but I think this is an opportunity. If you could ever be a center in this league — I mean, you know, that’s the second-most-important position.

RB: Tom kept saying how he had to guard all these guys that were so much bigger and taller. He never talked about the (positive) attributes.

DN: Guarding’s the problem, because there are some big bulky guys that you have to guard, and that’s the problem, of course, when you’re thin. But offensively, I think he can be a factor, and I hope that he kind of grows into it. Certainly, if he can play two positions for sure, it’ll help. And eventually, he might even be able to play three. I don’t know.

TT: I’m sure Nellie’s thinking is, when he put me up against Ewing, I can hold him to at least 38.

DN: (Laughs.) Well, I think we beat them most of the time, didn’t we?

TT: I think we did, absolutely. I tell you what, though. A lot of those centers I guarded had a lot of fun on the offensive end. They didn’t enjoy it as much on the defensive end a whole hell of a lot.

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DON NELSON

DN: Well, it feels good to get our first win. Nothing’s very easy. Down the stretch, when we had a lead, I thought the turnovers gave them a chance to get back in it. But we survived it, and I guess young teams are going to do that, so so be it. We lost the rebound game, the free throw game, but we won a few games. If you’re going to be small, you’re going to have to shoot a good percentage. Morrow helped that, that’s for sure. 10-for-12 will help your shooting percentage. And I thought both our point guards passed the ball, moved the ball well. Monta was sensational tonight. I think that’s a career-high 12 assists [one shy -- 13]. His shot wasn’t even falling, and he still had a monster game, I thought. So that was good. They certainly had enough mismatches out there, they didn’t know which one to go to, they had so many mismatches. But we prevailed and so know we’ve got our first win. That’s good.

Q: Monta gave you a little bit of everything tonight?

DN: He did. I thought he played well with Steph (Curry) and then when I wanted to get Morrow in the game, so we made that change, and he picked right up at the point guard. I thought he called a good game and pushed the ball up and played — of course, there was a lot more room for him to maneuver tonight, because of the threats of the outside shots. That really helps both the roller and the ball-handler. So he took full advantage of that. Still hasn’t made a jump shot. I can’t remember a jump shot that he made but I’m sure he did. Going to the basket, some beautiful spin moves. Pretty well isolated (Ellis), the center had to help and then he was able to outmaneuver him. It really took a lot of their weak-side help away. It’s been really crowded in there. I thought that helped open that game up.

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