The NBA’s Coach of the Year award is a lot like the MVP award, in that no one knows exactly what the criteria are, and that it usually could go to a number of different guys. The Coach of the Year this year is Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks.
Sure, that’s a good choice. Taking a team that won a lot of games, but still wasn’t close to being anything that could be considered a title defender, and making them into a team with a legitimate shot… that’s an accomplishment. He’s given the Mavs a backbone.
So, sure, AJ deserves it. That’s fine. I’ve got no quarrel with the Little General taking home the hardware. But there are other guys who, in the absence of any set criteria, deserved it just as much. All of the following could’ve elicited a similar “Sure, that’s a decent choice” response:
Mike D’Antoni, Phoenix Suns. This probably would’ve been my choice. I feel like it’s Mike D’Antoni’s system that makes the Suns such a threat, night-in, night-out. Boris Diaw did not go from Josh Childress’s towel boy to a triple-double threat because Boris Diaw got that much better. He made that leap because Mike D’Antoni put him in a position to succeed, and no other coach in the NBA, not one of them, would’ve thought to do it.
Mike Dunleavy, Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are almost certainly going to win a playoff series, a possibility that would’ve been considered laughable for the last, oh, 20 years or so. In fact, I’d be surprised if they don’t get to the conference finals.
Flip Saunders, Detroit Pistons. Well, he won 64 games. That’s not a bad total.
Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers. Well, no Lakers have been on trial for rape this year, so that’s progress. The Lakers didn’t make the playoffs last year with a pretty similar roster… this year, they were the lower-seed that no one really wanted to play. If he turns Kwame Brown into a player next year (and it looks like he’s going to), then Phil will warrant consideration again.
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs did just what they were supposed to do, but… that’s no small thing. The man is just a great coach. There’s no way he shouldn’t be on this list every year. Maybe he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but… you know, he’s still great.
Larry Brown, New York Knicks. Because he didn’t go on a multi-state killing spree.
Andy
I think Boris Diaw (and James Jones and the rest of Phoenix’s cast of rejects) deserves a little more credit than you give him.
Let’s include Byron Scott in the list, because while the addition of Chris Paul helped, Paul still had to be coached, and the rest of the team took a jump in spite of everything.
I’ll take Dunleavy off the list because I’ve heard from reliable sources named Bill Simmons that know the ongoings of the franchise firsthand that Sam Cassell is the REAL coach of the Clippers.
April 25, 2006 at 11:52 pm
King Dan
I agree with all you said, but I know there is a huge case to be made for Scott Skiles. Phil has Kobe, Skiles has Ben Gordon, the 5’2″ shooting guard. He did it with out a single big man that could score and a bunch of guys playing hard. Andres Nocioni is the perfect example of a Bulls player.
April 26, 2006 at 8:04 am
the mighty mjd
Andy – You’re right, I did slight Diaw a little bit… my point was that on any other team in the league, his stats wouldn’t be half of what they are now. But yes, he does have a unique skill set, he sees the court well, and he’s a fine player… There’s no question about that. I just think Mike D’Antoni put him in a position that no other coach would have, and really let him shine.
King Dan – I did consider Skiles… he was borderline to make the list, and I really dig the way the Bulls play ball, too.
April 26, 2006 at 9:42 am
HuangKong
I wonder if there is some statistic that shows that former players froma certain position end up being better coaches than other positions – like A.J. was a PG…. Scott Skiles was a guard. Does that mean Jason Kidd could be an NBA coach?
April 26, 2006 at 11:43 am
ReKen
The criteria for any of these awards is highly subjective (I would’ve voted for D’Antoni), but I’m sure we can all agree that Isiah is the Executive of the Year. The man single-handedly helped save the Magic and Raptors ungodly amounts of cap space via trades and gave Chicago two lottery picks for the second coming of Stanley Roberts. He’ll also rescue Denver next season by taking on K-Mart too. God bless you, Zeke.
April 26, 2006 at 3:06 pm