Award Watch: Coach of the Year
San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich continues to reside at our number one ranking for Coach of the Year as he still has his Spurs looking at a 70-win season, but watch out for the rookie Monty Williams - maybe that 11-game win streak at the start of the season wasn’t a case of over-achieving early.
As we enter the fourteenth week of the NBA schedule, head coaches have to work even harder for every win.
#1 Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs 38-7, Pace-to-win 69, last year: 50-32
(Last week #1, 35-6)
Popovich couldn’t coax a third double-digit winning streak out of his players as the Spurs fell to the Hornets this past week to split their season series with them at 2-2. Popovich now has winning streaks of 12-games, 10-games, and 8-games this season. He also clinched the Western Conference’s coaching spot in the All-Star Game last night, quite early to do so.
The Spurs are at the start of 12 road contests over a 13-game stretch that will put Popovich’s team to the test. When you are on track for a 70-win season, there isn’t much room to lose games over a brutally long road trip.
#2 Monty Williams, New Orleans Hornets 30-16, Pace-to-win 53, last year: 37-45, (Bryon Scott/ Jeff Bower)
(Last week #3, 26-16)
Moving up our rankings in a hurry is the rookie in New Orleans. Williams has his team on a nine-game winning streak with the Warriors, Kings, Suns, and Wizards next.
After beating the Spurs, New Orleans took ownership of the longest current winning streak in the NBA, a streak that started in Denver on the road and continued last week against the Hawks, Spurs, and Thunder by holding their opposition to an average of 85 points per game.
The Hornets are the surprise team of this season. Under the combined pressures of being taken over by the league and their star player rumored to want out of town, no one expected much from the Hornets or their rookie head coach at the start of the season.
#3 Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics 33-10, Pace-to-win 63, last year: 50-32
(Last week #2, 31-9)
Head Coach Doc Rivers has his Celtics playing well this season despite numerous injuries to key players. The team is deep, experienced, and willing to do whatever Rivers requests of them in order to get back to the NBA Finals.
The two-point loss to the Wizards in Washington on Saturday has to be disappointing as it snapped a five-game winning streak. On that night Boston started rookie center Semih Erden as both O’Neals (Shaq and Jermaine) and Kendrick Perkins were unavailable. With all the injuries to the Celtics big men this season, their record to date is even more impressive.
#4 Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls 31-14, Pace-to-win 56, last year: 41-41, (Vinny Del Negro)
(Last week: #5, 28-13)
Since the start of the New Year, rookie Head Coach Tom Thibodeau has only seen his Bulls lose to the Nets, 76ers, and Bobcats, twice. Their 10-4 record includes wins over Boston, Miami, and Dallas.
The Bulls will take first place in the Central but Thibodeau needs to get more consistent efforts from his players. Games against sub-.500 teams count just as much in the standings at the end of the season and Thibodeau needs to get his Bulls to win more of the games that they are supposed to win.
There will be no complaints about how this rookie head coach has performed this season as he continues to lead his Bulls to a top four finish in the East but more is required to seriously challenge for COY.
#5 Erik Spoelstra, Miami HEAT 31-13, Pace-to-win 58, last year: 47-35
(Last week: Honorable Mention, 30-12)
Head Coach Erik Spoelstra probably appreciates the three off days in a row last week and the four off days in a row this week. After losing four of his last five games and watching his star players succumb to injuries, a little rest in order to get back on track was just what they needed.
Spoelstra’s rise in the rankings is more due to the New York Knicks woes than anything the HEAT has done lately. Coaching a team with very high expectations makes COY aspirations especially challenging. It will be tough to move up from here.
Honorable Mentions
Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks 28-15, Pace-to-win 53, last year: 55-27
(Last week: Honorable Mention, 26-14)
The steam is presently out of Head Coach Rick Carlisle’s bid for COY. The Mavericks are good team that was playing great, but was not able to overcome injuries to Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler and has slide back to a pace anticipated when the season started.
Carlisle’s bid for COY and Dallas’ early season success was based on his team’s outstanding defense, so logically the Mavericks went and signed the oft-injured veteran three-point shooter Peja Stojakovic after he was waived by Toronto. Stojakovic will help the Mavericks spread the floor on the offensive end and is still a deadly outside shooter, but his sore knees could make him a significant hole on the defensive end.
Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks 23-21, Pace-to-win 43, last year: 29-53
(Last week: #4, 22-18)
What happened to the Knicks?
It was not long ago when Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks were 21-14 after beating Phoenix at home and looking like the Suns of previous seasons. Unfortunately, since then the Knicks have continued to give up the league’s third-most points per game at over 106 but have only scored over 100 in four of their last nine games.
D’Antoni has successfully recreated an exciting brand of basketball in New York, but recently the result has been more like the Warriors than the Suns, and that will not get him many votes for COY.
{AUTHOR_BOX}George Karl, Denver Nuggets 25-18, Pace-to-win 48, last year: 53-29
(Last week: Not Ranked, 23-17)
Like a train wreck, it is hard not to watch everything happening in Denver.
Head coach George Karl deserves a lot of credit for getting the performances he does out of his players. With all the trade rumors and distractions surrounding his team, Denver is still just 2.5 games out of first place in the Northwest division.
Some Coaches to Watch
There are some coaches who continue to get our attention and could move up if things improve.
Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz 27-17, Pace-to-win 50 (last week: 27-14), last year: 53-29
Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City Thunder 28-16, Pace-to-win 52 (last week: 27-14), last year: 50-32
Phil Jackson, LA Lakers 32-13, Pace-to-win 58 (last week: 31-12), last year: 57-25
Stan Van Gundy, Orlando Magic 29-16, Pace-to-win 53 (last week: 26-15) last year: 59-23
Larry Drew, Atlanta Hawks 29-16, Pace-to-win 53 (last week: 27-15) last year: 53-29
Notes:
The NBA Coach of the Year (COY) is selected at the end of the regular season by a media panel whose members each cast votes for their first, second and third place choices.
HOOPSWORLD is ranking the COY race based on how the coach’s team is performing against last year’s record, this year’s preseason expectations, and on how they are handling adversity during the season. A strong winning record is almost mandatory, but merely meeting already high expectations will not be enough. There is only a slight chance of a lottery-bound coach winning this award.
Did we miss someone? Let us know in the comments section below or contact us during HOOPSWORLD’s daily NBA chats.
You can send me comments or questions about COY, the Toronto Raptors, or anything else in the NBA to my weekly chat and check back on Thursday at noon ET for a response.
Loading ...
