Breaking news! Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks was named the NBA's Coach of the Year. And in the most obvious selection in NBA history, Dwight Howard was awarded Defensive Player of the Year. While Dwight clearly deserved his honors, the Coach of the Year recipient could've easily gone to another candidate.
In a previous post, I mentioned D-Howard's amazing stats. But I'll just repeat them anyway; Howard finished the regular season with averages of: 18.3 points per game, 13.2 rebounds per game, 2.8 blocks per game, 61.2% shooting from the field, and 0.9 steals per game. That's just ridiculous. Traditional names like Ron Artest and Shane Battier remain in the discussion, but nobody came remotely close to impacting the game like Orlando's big man. Additionally, Howard became the only player to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season twice.
As far as the Coach of the Year award goes, though, Brooks, Scott Skiles, and Nate McMillan (the trio who finished in the top 3 for Coach of the Year votes) all deserved it. When the Thunder started out 3-29 last season, it's a big turnaround to be playing as an 8 seed in the NBA playoffs only a season later. Plus, Brooks modified the Thunder to make them the dynamic team they are now. What's more, he's helped his young cast consistenly improve, especially the rookies.
Then again, Scott Skiles has done a great job in Milwaukee in spite of Michael Redd's long absence(s). To be able to mold a starting lineup with no true leader other than rookie Brandon Jennings into a 7 seed is slightly more impressive than scoring an 8 seed primarily with Kevin Durant, a top 3 player in the NBA, and Westbrook, among the fastest, if not the fastest, guard in the league. However, when 50 wins is the criteria to make the playoffs in the West and the East appears to consist solely of one NBA team, the Cavs, and a bunch of Junior Varsity squads, it's difficult to reward the East over the West.
If I were giving out the Coach of the Year award, there's no doubt in my mind that it belongs to the Trailblazers' Nate McMillan. Despite all the constant injuries, the Blazers are sitting on the 6 seed in the Western Conference and may end up moving past the first round. Meanwhile, the Thunder and Bucks are 0-2. And the beginning of the season was rather tough for the Blazers, too. Andre Miller came in to training camp out of shape, much to the chagrin of McMillan. Regardless, they got past their initial drama and Nate tinkered with his pieces well enough to create a rather formiddable backcourt and an effective bench. Still, the Blazers didn't settle down 'til after the trade deadline when Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake were sent to L.A. for Marcus Camby. So, for pretty much the entire year, McMillan has modified the lineup in a successful manner, weaving his way around injuries, chemistry issues, and a trade. Why didn't he win Coach of the Year?
In a previous post, I mentioned D-Howard's amazing stats. But I'll just repeat them anyway; Howard finished the regular season with averages of: 18.3 points per game, 13.2 rebounds per game, 2.8 blocks per game, 61.2% shooting from the field, and 0.9 steals per game. That's just ridiculous. Traditional names like Ron Artest and Shane Battier remain in the discussion, but nobody came remotely close to impacting the game like Orlando's big man. Additionally, Howard became the only player to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season twice.
As far as the Coach of the Year award goes, though, Brooks, Scott Skiles, and Nate McMillan (the trio who finished in the top 3 for Coach of the Year votes) all deserved it. When the Thunder started out 3-29 last season, it's a big turnaround to be playing as an 8 seed in the NBA playoffs only a season later. Plus, Brooks modified the Thunder to make them the dynamic team they are now. What's more, he's helped his young cast consistenly improve, especially the rookies.
Then again, Scott Skiles has done a great job in Milwaukee in spite of Michael Redd's long absence(s). To be able to mold a starting lineup with no true leader other than rookie Brandon Jennings into a 7 seed is slightly more impressive than scoring an 8 seed primarily with Kevin Durant, a top 3 player in the NBA, and Westbrook, among the fastest, if not the fastest, guard in the league. However, when 50 wins is the criteria to make the playoffs in the West and the East appears to consist solely of one NBA team, the Cavs, and a bunch of Junior Varsity squads, it's difficult to reward the East over the West.
If I were giving out the Coach of the Year award, there's no doubt in my mind that it belongs to the Trailblazers' Nate McMillan. Despite all the constant injuries, the Blazers are sitting on the 6 seed in the Western Conference and may end up moving past the first round. Meanwhile, the Thunder and Bucks are 0-2. And the beginning of the season was rather tough for the Blazers, too. Andre Miller came in to training camp out of shape, much to the chagrin of McMillan. Regardless, they got past their initial drama and Nate tinkered with his pieces well enough to create a rather formiddable backcourt and an effective bench. Still, the Blazers didn't settle down 'til after the trade deadline when Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake were sent to L.A. for Marcus Camby. So, for pretty much the entire year, McMillan has modified the lineup in a successful manner, weaving his way around injuries, chemistry issues, and a trade. Why didn't he win Coach of the Year?
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