Empty the Bench

By Brian Spencer

We know that Don Nelson is an unconventional NBA head coach who employs unorthodox strategies for winning. His Golden State Warriors run, run, and run some more, and his players exhibit little more than a passing interest in defense. Most of the team’s assists come on fastbreaks; in half-court sets, there’s hardly ever a shot opportunity whichever guy with the ball doesn’t like.

You know it as Nelly Ball, and while it usually makes for a fun watch, over the past few seasons it hasn’t equated to many wins: heading into the season’s final stretch, the Warriors currently sport the league’s third-worst record at 21-53. It’s not all Nelson’s fault, of course–he plays the hand former GM Chris Mullin and current GM Larry Riley dealt him–but he’s part of the problem, and with the team’s future uncertain following reports that owner Christopher Cohan is looking to sell the team, there’s a good chance his days are numbered. Finally.

But this isn’t as much about Nelson as it is two unheralded players unexpectedly sucked into Nelson’s mad, mad world this season due to a rash of injuries to the Warriors’ frontcourt. Both came to Golden State by way of the D-League and, Nelson’s herky-jerky coaching style be damned, both have emerged winners after being thrown into the fire and asked to play 25+ minutes out of the gate.

The first, 6-9 forward Anthony Tolliver, made his NBA debut last year with the San Antonio Spurs as an undrafted rookie out of Creighton, earning sporadic, mostly mop-up minutes in 19 games and averaging just 2.7 points and 2.2 boards in 11 minutes per. Before being called up for good by Golden State in January, he made two extremely brief appearances for the Portland Trail Blazers before a strong showing at the annual D-League Showcase punched his ticket back to the big show.

D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman attended the Showcase and in the first of his two-part interview on ETB named Tolliver as one of the D-Leaguers most likely to make an impact in the NBA:

Anthony Tolliver would be the easy front-runner for this list, but let’s rule him ineligible since he received his second call-up of the season last week, this time to Golden State. Tolliver is a do-it-all big man who posts up, crashes the glass, and defends, but can also handle the ball a little bit and shoot from the outside. Love watching him play.

Ditto, Steve. Tolliver has turned in some real nice performances for the Warriors, banging, hustling, and willing his way to 9 double-doubles since January 22, including 3 of his past 4 games. He’s the team’s leading rebounder at 6.9 per, has developed into a solid three-point shooter, and has a motor that never stops. This kid clearly relishes the opportunity and enjoying every minute of it. There’s no other situation in the NBA where he could have essentially walked right into the starting lineup and averaged just over 30 minutes per. Good for him (and for now let’s just pretend this didn’t happen).

And good for fellow D-League callup Reggie Williams, too, who upon joining the Warriors on March 2 became the team’s fifth D-Leaguer to find his way onto the roster (a new NBA team record). An undrafted rookie from VMI, Williams led the NCAA in scoring for two straight seasons, only to be written off on draft day due to his school’s small size and the offense-friendly system he played in. Still, as DraftExpress noted, the 6-5 Williams didn’t just lead the nation in scoring back in 06-07, he did it rather handily in averaging 35 points per 40 minutes.

Williams’ ability to score at will at VMI continued in the D-League, where in 26 games with Sioux Falls he averaged 26 points on 56% shooting and 39% from three-point land, and much hasn’t changed in Golden State, either, a team which runs the closest thing he’ll ever see in the NBA to his free-wheeling collegiate system. Save for his 3-15 FG performance on Saturday against the Mavericks (the Warriors shot 27% as a team that night, so…), Williams has been on fire, averaging 14.2 points on 51% FG and 41% 3PT. He’s scored 22+ points in 5 of his 15 games, and his confidence seems to grow by the day.

Individual success stories. In the absence of wins, that’s what Warriors fans have to settle for this season (well, that and knowing they have Stephen Curry, one of the top two rookies in the NBA). They’re still regularly packing Oracle Arena, though, and Tolliver and Williams are helping make the end, losing result much more palatable, Don Nelson be damned.

Reggie Williams Photo Credit: Icon SMI

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