By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your (less and less frequent) daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

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Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II): So, I’m OK with a coach still getting credit for a win when he gets tossed midway through a contest. But if Don Nelson were to retire with 1,333 wins – just one more than Lenny Wilkens – you think people wouldn’t remember this game as “The One Nellie Won From Nearly 2,000 Miles Away, Watching On TV”?

Also: Vladimir Radmanovic makes more of a contribution than anyone has a right to expect.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

With tipoff hours away, I’m not going to do game-by-game predictions for how the 2009-10 Warriors will fare. Engaging in that kind of activity is almost as useless as waiting for the Bay Bridge to open.

Besides, I already went on the record last week on Comcast Bay Area’s “Chronicle Live” with my prediction for the Warriors: 34-48, picked not coincidentally because it matches Mike Montgomery’s record in both his seasons with Golden State.

(Isn’t it funny that Monty was brought in to teach the young kids, then Baron Davis was added to the mix, costing Monty his authority, and now that BD is gone, the Warriors, once again, are in need of someone to nurture youthful players? It’s the circle of GSW Life!)

I could see the Warriors pushing that to 36 or 37 wins, but I think the best they can do is to hold off the Clippers and Oklahoma City (sorry, Chuckles!) for the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference.

On the plus side: We’ll all get to celebrate Don Nelson amassing more coaching victories than Lenny Wilkens. Yay!

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — It wasn’t quite the first thing out of Don Nelson’s mouth once he rejoined the Warriors in the fall of 2006, but for more than a year now, Golden State’s coach/oracle/genius-in-residence has insisted to any microphone, notepad or bullhorn within reach that Monta Ellis needs to be a point guard to reach his full potential as an NBA player.

Must be.

Not, “maybe.”

Not, “well, we’ll try him there and see what happens.”

Must be.

You’ll imagine my surprise, therefore, when Nelson announced last week in Dallas, three games into Ellis’ return from Moped Madness, that the transition to point guard was being shelved. Jamal Crawford moved back to the point and Ellis will play the 2, at least at the offensive end.