Steve Kerr and the Coach of the Year Race
This award might be just as wide open as the MVP one. Many respective coaches around the league have made their teams develop to a whole new level.
Mike Budenholzer: He has made the Atlanta Hawks the story of the Eastern Conference. No one expected them to dominate the East like they have. Although they’ve looked vulnerable lately, the Hawks are still one of the best teams in the league despite not having a true star player on the team.
Coach Bud (as his players like to refer him to) has taken a Gregg Popovich type approach to helping the Hawks become a tough team to beat. They pass the ball as well as anyone and can defend practically any team on a nightly basis.
To have the type of success Atlanta has had without a marquee superstar is impressive and tons of credit goes to Budenholzer and his staff. He instilled the confidence in his players to go out and play to the best of their abilities. He’s also really close with his team off the court, which is always a good sign and helps result into comfortable, winning basketball.
Jason Kidd: Kidd had an awful start to his coaching career but has vastly improved this season. The Milwaukee Bucks weren’t scaring anyone before the season, and might not pose as much of a threat right now, but there is no denying they are a team that can grind it out and win games with their defensive progression.
Kidd has helped the Bucks comfortably fit themselves in the playoff picture and that’s with the loss of rookie Jabari Parker and having to adjust to Michael Carter-Williams while losing Brandon Knight and Larry Sanders. If there as a most improved coach award, Kidd would have had it locked up.
Terry Stotts: The Portland Trail Blazers defense went from being ranked 22nd last season to now 9th in points allowed per game. Portland’s defensive rating has also developed going from 107.4 in 2014-15 to 102.1 this year, making them the third best in the league rating wise.
Portland is another team that has had to deal with injuries. LaMarcus Aldridge has had lingering injuries all year, Nicolas Batum hasn’t looked like the same player as before, Robin Lopez missed an extended period of time, and Wes Matthews is out for the remainder of the season.
Somehow, they still lead the Northwest and are third in the Western Conference after an embarrassing outing in the second round of the postseason last year. Stotts has done an admirable job to keep Portland in position to potentially secure homecourt advantage in the first round.
The Warriors’ Case: Steve Kerr didn’t necessarily get put into the most established position. Sure, the Warriors did win 50 games last season, but they lost a coach in Mark Jackson that almost all of them loved.
Kerr didn’t come in and play hero ball. He knew that the team was going through a tough time losing Jackson. It was well presented. You can’t look too deeply into Twitter, but most of the players Tweeted out their goodbyes to Jackson and minimally welcomed Kerr to the team via social media. He had to earn their respect.
The five-time NBA Champ did just that. He emphasized the importance of passing the ball and running back on defense despite being a jump-shooting team. He showed courage to bench former All-Stars in David Lee and Andre Iguodala in favor of young players in Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes respectively.
He challenged Klay Thompson to attack the ball to the basket more, for Curry to be more careful with the ball, and for Green to establish himself as a stretch-four. Rather than swapping Thompson for Kevin Love, he expressed his desire to coach Thompson instead and that he wanted to keep the young two-way guard. That built instant confidence in Thompson and a bond with Kerr from the get-go.
Kerr traveled to Australia to meet with Andrew Bogut in the offseason and connected with players on the team in anyway possible prior to the start of the year to get to know them better. He knew what the team went through losing Jackson. He put together one of the best coaching staffs in the league by hiring defensive guru Ron Adams and former head coach Alvin Gentry.
The savvy rookie head coach has helped lead the team to many franchise records and another 50-win season. He’s made the changes and decisions to do what’s best for the team. He has a strong chance to be the first Warriors’ Coach of the Year in over two decades since Don Nelson did it in 1992.
Fuck this dumb ass