Spolstra for COY??

by StocktonNEP on Apr 13, 2009 2:21 PM PDT

Been reading a lot of news around the league about the coach of the year debate, marc stein noted that Nate is making a late season push but still probably won't win it. I try to put my bias behind me, but I think Nate should be coach of the year. The debate with Karl and Van Gundy have similair arguements to Nate, team getting better, big players getting better, role players knowing exactly what they need to do, all resulting in an improved team, but the debate for spolstra makes no sense. Everything that Spolstra has done Nate has done, without the advantage of injuries last year that made the team look really really bad. Just like spolstra Nate has counted on rookies, Oden, rudy, batum, beasly, chalmers. Both coaches have also benefited from amazing play from their stars, and as good as brandon has been, wade has been on another level. This all ends with nate having a better seed in a much better conference, Why the Love for spolstra??

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as far as I can tell COY is based on two things

Coaches get coach of the year for: exceeding expectations and a team performing very well. Spolstra is getting love because Wade had had an abysmal season last year and Miami looked like a lottery team. They are playoff bound despite not having a center for most of the year, Beasley not setting the world on fire and the team behind Wade mostly being scrubs. It’s doing a lot with a poor hand.

The other candidates either have had team overcome injuries(Adelman, Sloan), gotten a top seed(Brown, Jackson) or had a young team perform far better than expected (McMillan, Van Gundy, Spolstra).

Lot’s of teams overcame a lot this year.

by boppitywop on Apr 13, 2009 2:52 PM PDT reply actions

Spoelstra (corrected spelling) has been magnificent; don't put him down

By the end of last year, the Heat was in complete disarray under Riles, with DWade trying to be a one-man show and failing. Trust on the team was nonexistent. This year’s preseason began on the identical note; the Heat wouldn’t have won 25 games, even with Wade’s heroics, if Spoelstra hadn’t completely, and I mean completely, changed the tone of the team. Having done that, and also having done everything Nate has done (turning your statement 180 degrees) puts him in the conversation big-time. In my judment, Nate and Spoelstra should be the top 2 candidates. I doubt they will be, but they should. I suggest compiling the impressive evidence in favor of Nate; not disparaging Spoelstra.

by blazerwizard on Apr 13, 2009 3:02 PM PDT reply actions

Well...

Wade has been healthy this year which wasn’t the case the previous two years. They had also made mistake of trading for Marion last year which gave them no inside presence aside from Haslem. Lastly, they have lost 38 games this year in the eastern conference which is not exactly a sign of great coaching.

"Sasha? That's a sissy name." -Mike Rice

by koyote on Apr 13, 2009 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Nate lost 41 games last year

Is that “not exactly a sign of great coaching”, too? Of course not; it’s the performance beyond the expectations that matter. And as a rookie coach coming in to a position on a dysfunctional team, Spoelstra did a superlative job. He should be receiving kudos, not not jabs.

by blazerwizard on Apr 14, 2009 5:35 AM PDT up reply actions

Actually Spoelstra has done great job and him and Nate should get acknowledged

On the other hand, it baffles me that VanGundy gets so much credit… I’ve never been too impressed. It’s kind of like Mike Brown with the Cavs, they have all the talent in the world of course they are going to win a bunch of games. Plus, VanGundy annoys me for some reason and he has a tendency to say some pretty dumb stuff (ie his feud with Shaq), while Spoelstra is super cool (as far as I can tell).

by two buck chuck on Apr 13, 2009 4:04 PM PDT reply actions

COY hard to quantify

Because it is ultimately up to the players to execute. How much is coaching and how much is just execution? What stats reflect a coaches effectiveness? Points after timeouts? Wins? Winning with a depleted/injured/young/ragtag roster? Road Wins (sorry Sloan)? Creating mismatches? Countering other coaches schemes and moves, not countering and sticking to your own unique gameplan?

by appel82 on Apr 13, 2009 4:18 PM PDT reply actions

Mike Brown will win COY

that team is ballin

Woof

by Charles Barkley McLovin on Apr 13, 2009 5:15 PM PDT reply actions

you dont want to win that one

It is like being on the cover of SI

How is the coaching job going Sam Mitchell

for the most part part, that award means just what it means, of the year. Nate McMillian is going to be a long time great coach so he will probably never be in the running for this dreaded prize.

Life is exhausting when you are this stupid.

by jonestr on Apr 13, 2009 9:46 PM PDT reply actions