Coach of the Year Award is Officially Worthless

By Craig Kwasniewski

It's official the Coach of the Year ranks right up there with the ESPY's, the Tony's and the Grammy's... basically it's a worthless paper weight.

No, it's not because Byron Scott won the award, though I'm curious why Phil Jackson didn't get any run considering he coached the Lakers to the top seed in the brutal Western Conference through a myriad of injuries, the Kobe distractions in November and a blockbuster trade (just ask Avery and D'Antoni how difficult that is). But OF COURSE you can never give a nine time NBA champion the award!

It's because Doc Rivers finished in second place!

He even got 23 first place votes!!!!!

So you're telling me the same Doc Rivers who personally lost Game 4 on Sunday because he made ZERO defensive adjustments is the second best coach in the NBA. The same Doc Rivers who has never advanced in the playoffs in *NINE* seasons of coaching. The same Doc Rivers who led the Celtics to a franchise best 18-game losing streak. The same Doc Rivers who coaching the Orlando Magic during their franchise best 19-game losing streak. REALLY????

Those 23 media members should lose their jobs!

The Celtics revival was all because of KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and all the brilliant off-season moves by Danny Ainge (BTW - he should split the Executive of the Year award with (I can't believe I'm saying this) Mitch Kupchak). In fact, anyone who knows basketball agrees that the Celtics succeeded despite Doc Rivers coaching (again, just read Boston Sports Guy's chat on ESPN.com just to see how much the people believe in Doc's coaching skills).

So if Glen Rivers is the second best head coach in 2007-08, then let me just ask all the Celtics fans out there: do you feel comfortable with Doc as your coach in a three game series?

EXACTLY!

Comments

[Scott]

I can't understand why Jerry Sloan never gets any love. The fact that he has never won CotY is the real sign that the award means nothing.

[dave]

phil jackson doesn't get any play because he has coached the best player in the league his whole career. the lakers success this year had more to do with kobe becoming a leader and the addition of gasol than anything the napping guru has done. i wonder how many times phil has been jolted awake from sleepy time on the bench with an elbow from an assistant. d'antoni, douchebag that he is, had a much more difficult mid-season trade adjustment than jackson. jackson got a young, athletic and smart player in the prime of his career. d'antoni got a fat, slow, dumb turd who is on a massive decline. good luck with that phoenix!
i feel bad for avery. he has had to deal with a megalomaniacal owner, a slow aging point guard, and a gutless superstar. i'm going to print up some "free avery!" t-shirts.
i don't have a problem with byron scott, but i am interested to see how he will fare against the "real" best coach in the nba in the wcsf.

[Craig]

Dave, So Phil Jackson is just the luckiest coach in the NBA? So he lucked into 9 titles? COME ON! You're smarter than that than to fall into the who belief that sideline screamers are better coaches.

Pau Gasol fits into the Lakers system. What's that system again? Oh yeah, the Triangle Offense. What's that? Oh yeah, the offensive system that Phil Jackson coaches. Sure, it doesn't hurt that Kobe is one of the more talented players in the NBA but as we all know talent alone doesn't equal titles. The NBA is all about personality management and the ability to motivate. Jackson succeeds in the mental aspects where many other coaches (minus Pop and Sloan) fail. Think about it, have Phil Jackson teams ever been known to choke (like Phoenix last night). You can argue about the blown 3-1 lead over Phoenix in 2006, but that was more because Phoenix had a ton of more talent (Smush Parker and Devean George started for crissake!).

Just because Jackson doesn't wave his arms up and down (like Rudy T) or whine constantly (like D'Antoni) or micromanage the last 2 minutes (like Pop) doesn't mean he's not coaching.

[dave]

i'm not saying phil jackson is totally devoid of coaching skills and i agree that he is an excellent motivator and mentor. however, when you have a michael jordan or a kobe bryant (with shaq in his prime) on your team, a lot of difficulties that other coaches have to deal with are not as prevalent. jackson has always had a go to guy who can score in any situation. i'm well aware that the lakers run the triangle, but it's it's tex winter's system, not jackson's. what bothers me about jackson is his unwillingness to break from that system when it's not working, the inability to make in-game adjustments (besides the ocassional zone play) and what seems to be a general aloofness of attitude. he has that "been there, done that" kind of vibe, like he doesn't really care that much. he seems to have lost the fire he had during the bulls' heyday. he was a sideline screamer back then. scottie!

[DowJones]

I think that great cali bud kind of chilled him out a lot more...

Also, to say that PJ lucked into the teams he did in bulls and lakers is just complete ludicrous, it just seems like he does a far better job of communicating with the front office exactly what types of players fit in his system...kind of like d'Antoni and Colengelo. Yes, he lucked into some amazing players but those players didn't do squat until Phil pushed them over the top (how many championships do shap and kobe have before phil? what about jordan?)

You say he doesn't break from the system? Well...everyone knows that the triangle offense he ran in Chicago was a highly modified version of Tex Winter's system TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the fact that MJ, not a passing forward or center is the focal point of the offense. And why break from a system if he believe it's the best system for easy offense? He makes excellent in game adjustments and like Craig said, his teams almost never commit dumb mental errors during important playoff games and his teams are generally only beaten by teams with superior talent and mental fortitude (think pistons with LB and pippen being a douche). Now think about it, if PJ was coaching the Mavs back in 2006, you think Dallas would've lost to Miami (Dallas had arguably the superior talent, out classed heat in at least 3/5 positions)? Basically Phil is a coach who can probably push ANY talented team over the top if you give him 1-2 years to install his system and find him the right players. Now think about how many coaches in NBA can absolutely guarantee you that with their system?

[dave]

popovich and sloan.

[dave]

it seems that neither of you read my comments. well, maybe you read the first sentence before flying off the handle. i never said phil jackson was lucky or did not deserve his success. i never said screamers make better coaches. so, don't put words in my mouth. i was attempting to explain why some coaches (jackson, popovich, & sloan) who are obviously superior, seem to get overlooked in the coach of the year voting. craig, you brought up jackson in your article. i thought the point of leaving comments, was to respond to the original article.
while i do enjoy giving phil a hard time, like calling him yoda or sleepy jackson, i think he bears mention with the greatest coaches of all time. i just like to make fun of the lakers and lakers fans.
BTW, DID YOU EVER NOTICE THAT LAKERS FANS TYPE THEIR BLOG COMMENTS IN ALL CAPS AND PUNCTUATE EVERYTHING WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS?!!!!!!!!! i think this method of communication is the written equivalent of mental retardation. that is one of the reasons for my adoption of the lower case style. the other reason? laziness.

[Ashley]

Seirously!?
Need I remind you that the Lakers were number one just in the end of the season!
They were only number one for mere weeks, weeks, days whatever. Who's counting?
The Hornets were number one for two months.
Maybe even more (Once again, not counting.)
Byron Scott deserved that paper-weight!
haha