Nelson Returns to Warriors, Clearly Not 100 Percent

OAKLAND -- Don Nelson rejoined the Warriors on Thursday morning, although you have to wonder whether he should have.

Nelson, who has missed the team's previous five games because of pneumonia, was present at the Warriors' morning shootaround and is scheduled to make his return for tonight's game against the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena.

But Nelson, 69, admitted to still feeling a little tired and toward the end of a six-minute interview asked a group of reporters who were surrounding him if he could get up because he "was kind of sweaty right now."

Nelson left the Warriors after their victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 20. The Warriors went 2-3 in Nelson's absence as assistant coach Keith Smart took over.

Nelson said he's been instructed by his doctors to take it easy.

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"Just to be careful," Nelson responded, when asked what his doctors have told him. "Make sure I get my rest. People who have had this, it takes a while really to get over it, to get your energy back. So I'll have to be careful and not try to do too much. I have a great staff that does most of the work anyway. Just to be around is a reward for me. But I've got to be careful when I stand up so that I don't stand up too quickly."

Nelson said he spent most of the past two weeks quarantined in his downtown Oakland apartment. He said he mostly watched games and slept. He said he did notice the play of Monta Ellis, who had some big games while he was gone.

"He's stepped forward," Nelson said. "There's two ways he could have gone and he did the right thing and stepped up. He's proven now that he's the guy and it's not (Stephen Jackson's) team, it's his team. He's leading in all ways that you hope a leader would do it -- by his performance and in the locker room, too. I'm proud of him and I told him that. I think finally he's in great shape and is able to play the way he feels he can play consistently, and I have to agree with him."

Ellis wasn't at Warriors' shootaround on Thursday. The team said he got ill on the way there. Nelson is 18 wins away from overtaking Lenny Wilkens on the all-time NBA coaching wins list.

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