As he prepares to slide back into his padded, custom-made hot seat on the Dallas Mavericks' bench, Don Nelson wants to reassure everyone that he's the same Nellie as before.

	Nelson's ways are unconventional, but they are working this year.

Unlike anyone else in his profession, to this day.

Not that we need him to tell us. It has been evident all season in Big D, even before Nelson conquered The Big C, more by the manner in which he reacted to prostate cancer than those quirky lineups and unorthodox strategies.

Mainly, by how he made loads of jokes about his sensitive condition.

Then there was the less-than-conventional recovery in Maui. Playing cards with Willie Nelson. Sneaking off to the pound to add to his stable of stray dogs, one of which he named Scrunchy. Riding around in a golf cart with Andy North at the Senior Skins Game and, finally, vowing to confront Shaquille O'Neal with a clown nose in their next encounter.

"In a way, it almost seems like the cancer never happened," Nelson suggests.

To convince us further, there is Tuesday's showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers, less than seven weeks since the surgery that removed Nelson's cancerous prostate. The Yankees' Joe Torre, who took more time off to return from a similar ordeal, warned Nellie not to be too hasty, but the lure of hacking on Shaq was too strong. Nelson, sidelined for 21 games, couldn't bear missing any more of what will almost certainly be the Mavericks' first playoff season since 1990.

"It's time for me to come back," he insists, stressing that the only noticeable difference in his benchside manner will be the need to make a few restroom pit stops during games.

"I don't think I'm rushing it."

By now we all know: He rarely thinks like the rest of us. Prime example: Nelson likes Mark Cuban. He forged an immediate bond with the Mavericks' new owner, which is why Nelson can still be found in the X-and-O realm, less than a year after convincing many of his friends that he'd be retired by 60.

	Finley

	Nash

	Nowitzki

This May 15, when Nelson turns 61, he has a chance to celebrate that birthday in the post-season. If not quite a genius reborn, ol' Nels is certainly reenergized, partly by Cuban's presence and mostly by the emergence of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash as talented Dallas sidekicks to Michael Finley.

There's a greater chance, of course, that the Mavericks won't last very long in the NBA Tournament, probably not all the way into mid-May. Then again, who had them starting 33-20? "At my age," Nelson often says, "I should be coaching a team that wins 50 games." Suddenly, that's exactly what these Mavericks are ... if they maintain their current pace.

"I don't want to take anything away from Mark, but I think a lot of people overlook the moves Nellie has made," Nash says. "He's the one who brought Dirk and I here. He has to get some credit for his moves as a GM."

Nelson's reward, at the very least, is a team that has built up some undeniable confidence, in spite of the fact that Finley, Nowitzki and Shawn Bradley have never appeared in a playoff game. Winning with Nellie and without him, home and away, can do that, and the Mavericks are. They're a gaudy 16-11 on the road, 13-8 under Donnie Nelson and pulled into the All-Star break with a franchise-record 31 victories.

Maybe this can't wind up a Joe Torre story, since the Mavericks are nowhere close to winning a championship for their skipper, but success on the court and in the hospital actually have changed one thing about same ol' Nels.

He'll eventually leave the Shaq-hacking to someone else on an upbeat chord, instead of slinking away under a cloud of Chris Webber-Patrick Ewing residue.

"I'm respectful of the fact that people are in my corner now," Nelson says. "But I hope it's not just because I had cancer."

Son Also Rises
On the subject of Nelsons, and repaired reputations, Don is not alone. Donnie Nelson is also in the midst of a renaissance, after arriving in Dallas with an unblemished record ... and somehow absorbing even more hits than pops during the two-plus seasons the Mavericks stalled under their stewardship.

By the start of this season, Donnie had slipped from head coach-in-waiting to third assistant, behind Del Harris and Sidney Moncrief on the Mavericks' luxurious leather bench. He took all the heat when Nowitzki and Nash struggled early in their Dallas careers, and received roughly zero of the credit for discovering them when the twosome came good. Undeniable fact: Don Nelson would not have pursued either one if not for his son's recommendations.

Slowly, though, Lil' Nellie is regaining what he lost. The renaissance commenced in Sydney, when he helped Lithuania to two near-upsets of the Dream Team. Nelson Jr. then held the Mavericks together at a critical juncture, after Harris convinced Nelson Sr. and Cuban that Donnie was a better fit as interim coach.

Harris was right. Despite playing without Nash for 10 of Donnie's 21 games in charge, the Mavericks rallied from at least 16 points down three times on Donnie's watch. That includes epic comebacks on back-to-back nights in January, at Charlotte and at home over Orlando, when losses in either game threatened to send the team into a tailspin.

As a result of all the good work, Donnie might have reemerged as the on-staff favorite to replace his father someday, even though no one is saying so yet. It was a marked improvement from Donnie's 1-4 interim stint last season, which couldn't have been much uglier, coinciding with the last few games before Cuban released Dennis Rodman.

"What he did," Finley said, "won't be forgotten."

Said Donnie: "In the end, I'm feeling more exhausted and relieved than victorious. I was the same coach last year when I didn't get a great review, but I don't think in terms of vindication. It's really just like with Dirk and Steve coming around. It doesn't surprise me, because that's the way we expected those guys to play, but I am relieved.

"Money can't buy what I have in Dallas, and that's happiness. I'm in a city I love, I'm with my dad and then there's Mark, who I'm very loyal to. He rescued the Nelsons in their darkest hour. ... I don't want to be an assistant coach for the rest of my life, but I'm not going to grab some undesirable job to grab another zero on my contract and be miserable."

	Abdur-Rahim

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