[cjg11582]

Over in another forum about the Mavs reaching the finals (http://www.goteamsgo.com/forum/newre...quote=1&p=6723) we incidentally sparked a side discussion that I think is worthy of its own thread pertaining to coach of the year. So far the names mentioned were Avery Johnson, Mike Dunleavy and Mark D'antoni.
First of all, D'antoni coach of the year? Maybe Colangelo GM of the year or Nash as MVP, but that team essentially runs itself as long as Nash is healthy. Yes you should give him D'antoni credit for the up-tempo system, but he received that when he won coach of the year last season. And the Clippers are nowhere near the surprise that the Hornets are. This team was already supposed to be one of the three worst teams heading into the season and they are currently the 6th seed in the west. But that isn't even the tip of the iceberg... they were forced to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and had to move to (of all places) Oklahoma City, which is refreshingly a great NBA town.
If you compare The Hornets with their New Orleans NFL counterpart, The Saints do have the second pick in the NFL draft. Not that they were supposed to be the cream of the crop pre Katrina or anything, but certainly they were expected to go at least 6-10 or 7-9 (Like they do every year). I am not saying the Saints handled it poorly, probably better than I would have, but The Hornets have been exceptional. Even if this team does not make the playoffs yet maintains a .500 record. Byron Scott deserves coach of the year for leading a young, inexperienced team to immense over achievement in the face of adversity.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Any counterpoints? Am I being overly sentimental?

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

I think Avery Johnson should be a shoe-in. Of course, with these kind of votes, you never know how it will swing.

[cjg11582]

I have to say, I am not understanding this Avery Johnson bandwagon. This team is slightly better than last year, does that really warrant coach of the year? By this rationale Flip Saunders is a coach of the year candidate. Dallas won 58 games last season, What happens if they lose the division title to The Spurs (again) and plummet to the fourth seed? Is his influence really that significant?

[ThePundit]

CJG - You have a good point. I forgot about Byron Scott. I don't think too many people picked the Clippers to be this good. But I'd have to agree with you. If I was given a vote at this point, I would vote 1) Scott 2) Dunleavy

I would be very happy to see Scott get it because of the raw deal he got in Jersey. He makes 2 finals in a row and is fired the following season. Jason Kidd's hands were all over the knife in Byron's back.

[Nitch]

Avery!!!! AVERY!!!

[xdavidwattsx]

Originally Posted by cjg11582

I have to say, I am not understanding this Avery Johnson bandwagon. This team is slightly better than last year, does that really warrant coach of the year?

Were you asleep at the beginning of the season when NOBODY gave the Mavs a chance to even be in the same league as the Spurs, much less anyone else?

As a refresher, here is the ESPN NBA preview for 2005. You'll notice that just about everyone picked them to finish 5 -7 in the conference, and most picked them 3rd in their own division.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...lasPreview0506

Scoop Jackson said "this is the beginning of the downfall" and the Mavs wouldn't even make the playoffs.

Tim Legler from ESPN insider:

Legs on Mavs: I just don't see them being as good as the past five years. Losing Michael Finley is big. Doug Christie is a veteran fill-in, but his best days are behind him.
It's still Dirk Nowitzki's and Jason Terry's team, and they are both All-Star caliber players. But, overall, they haven't improved and might even have taken a step back. They are still a formidable team capable of beating anyone on any given night, but I don't see them as a legitimate title contender.