It’s impossible to compete in the NBA without talent but coaching can help make the difference between a good team and a great team. Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt certainly hasn’t done much with the talent at his disposal, and while it might be unfair to rip on him, he is just one example of how an abundance of talent doesn’t necessarily lead to wins in every situation. Here are four best candidates for the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award right now:
Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
It’s fun to look back now and think about what would have happened if Kerr ended up with the Knicks in New York rather than with Golden State but fortunately for him he took the Warriors job. He’s been the difference for them, helping them climb to the best record in the NBA. The Splash Brothers Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have been excellent but Golden State has also gotten a lot out of Harrison Barnes, David Lee, Andre Iguodola and Shaun Livingston. Curry and Thompson are both playing the best basketball of their young careers and while it’s difficult to quantify how much of an impact Kerr has had, on the Warriors they are a much better team this year than they were under Marc Jackson just a year ago, so it only makes sense to give him credit.
Kevin McHale, Houston Rockets
McHale has been talked about as a coach that his players love and it’s hard to argue about the job he has done in Houston once again this season. The Rockets own one of the best records in the NBA despite that Dwight Howard has missed significant time. McHale has done an excellent job handling the roster turnover and putting his players in the best possible position to succeed. Remember, this is a team that entered the year on a downer. They missed out on Chris Bosh and lost Chandler Parsons. And no other Western Conference contender has more new players than a Rockets team that has 10 new faces including Trevor Ariza, Jason Terry, Kostas Papanikolaou, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Corey Brewer and even Josh Smith. The ability to take so many new players and integrate them in to their system has been nothing short of impressive. Josh Harden has played at an MVP level and the pieces around him have thrived. While it’s easy to write Houston’s success off as a talented team that has played at a high level, it’s important not to overlook the impact McHale has had when it comes to motivation, handling so many different egos, and putting his players in position to succeed.
Stan Van Gundy, Detroit Pistons
Van Gundy is a sleeper pick to win the Coach of the Year Award given how his team has played lately. Van Gundy shocked the world when he unceremoniously released Josh Smith in the middle of the year but Detroit has responded with wins in nine of its last 10 games, including a comeback victory over the Raptors in Toronto the other night. Now the Pistons are suddenly only two games back of the Brooklyn Nets for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Van Gundy’s boldness and ability to get the most out of his players since dropping Smith cannot be overlooked, and if Detroit gets in to the playoffs he will undoubtedly deserve to be in the conversation.
Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks
Entering Wednesday, the Hawks have won 23 of 25, have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NBA. All of this with a lineup built around Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and Al Horford. Suffice to say, nobody saw this coming.
Budenholzer comes from the San Antonio Spurs organization and his Hawks mimic his former employer. They aren’t flashy but they play great defense (second in the NBA in points per game allowed), they are efficient on offense (fifth-best field goal percentage) and they share the basketball (second in assists per game, third in assists-to-turnover ratio).
People continue to sleep on this team but they’re unquestionably one of the best teams in the NBA. Budenholzer deserves credit for that more than any one player on his team.
