Just goes to show you the idiot pundits voted for the award a week or two before the season was over. Doc did a terrific job, but blowing a playoff spot with a 3-5 concluding stretch of play should have cost him the award. Same crap last year when everyone mailed in their MVP votes to Malone knowing he was the best player on Utah and thinking Utah they had the top seed sown up, when Duncan had better stats and carried his team to the first seed the last 2 weeks of the season and then to the NBA title. They should ban pundits who vote before the season is over from future voting rights for such awards. ------------------
Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. Phil Jackson doesn't get 'Coach of the Year' b/c he only coaches for the best teams. next: Steve Francis doesn't get ROY b/c of the Vancouver fiasco? nahhhh... we'll forgive a kid. But not someone who's been harping their own greatness rather than remarking on their luck. ------------------
Doc pulls it out, Phil Jackass gets second, no one else even close. No votes for Rudy. http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2000/0426/502529.html ------------------ "Okay KG, next time down, you give Cousin Billy his turn, then he'll give Uncle Joe his turn, then we'll give Shaq a turn." -Rudy T, in the Dream Team 2000 huddle
Objectively, it should have been a no brainer. Phil J. takes a team who has imploded for like 3 or 4 years and compeletly dominates the league. Yes the talent was there, but a generally respected (Harris) and promising coach (Rambis) couldn't get them to play defense or play with poise, the former of which had an even more talented team with Jones and Campbell there. Whether because it was simply his prestige, hairdo, Zen philosophy, or knowning enough to get out of Shaq's way (the reason really doesn't matter), Jackson was the difference maker between this year's sustained excellence and previous years under-achivements by that team. Based on the previous histroy of such awards, I would hazard to say if it was any other less arrogant coach he would have won by a landslide. And arrogance and personal liking/disliking should not come into play in determining such awards. I think it would have been a really close call if Doc's team had not fallen apart when they had a nice lead for the last playoff spot, because after all Doc got a team that I thought would be in the bottom 6 going into the season to play 500 ball. But they did fall apart the last 2 weeks, blowing a winning record and a playoff slot in the process. That shouldn't have been overlooked. Of course it was because most of the pundits had mailed in their ballots already!! ------------------
Sir, you're right, it was a no-brainer, which is why Doc won despite all the LA/Phil Jackass hype. Doc missing the playoffs with his CBA team is so not relevant. What is relevant is that they even had a chance in the first place, Eastern Conference or not. The Lakers have been up around 60 wins ever since Shaq-fool got there, I really don't see what's so special about them winning a few more this year, especially when you consider the fact that Shaq is now in his prime, and that he played in 80 games this year, while in '97 and '98 he missed over 50 games combined. Winning the most games when you have the most talent doesn't warrant a coach of the year vote in my opinion...it's the reason Pat Riley has never won the award. What's sad is that 53 writers thought that NOBODY did a better coaching job than Phil Jackass this year, and that Rudy T didn't get 1 vote. I'm not saying Rudy deserved coach of the year, but he sure did more with less than Phil Jackass did. Jerry Sloan was WAY more deserving than Jackass, winning the division with the talent he had. Once again, put Phil in charge of the Magic, and let's see how many games they win. ------------------ "Okay KG, next time down, you give Cousin Billy his turn, then he'll give Uncle Joe his turn, then we'll give Shaq a turn." -Rudy T, in the Dream Team 2000 huddle
Wow. When I clicked on this thread I thought all the replies would be people saying how glad they are that Doc got it. I think I would still vote for Doc if I knew his team would not make the playoffs. Thing is, no one thought this team would be capable of winning 10 games, and they were the 8th seed for a good part of the season. Come on, their highest paid player barely makes 2 million a year! On top of that, this was Doc's first year coaching. He did a great job. ------------------ No matter how badly the idiots may outmumber you, they're still the idiots.
Well Freak we can agree to disagree. The Lakers talent has always been there, I agree, which is why their offensive stats have consistently been terrific the last 3 or 4 years. But what is differnet now is not the individual play of Shaq, but is team defense. Jackson got the same team that was consistently one of the worst defensive teams in the league to become the best defensive team in the league this year. When you further consider they lose a defender the quality of Eddie Jones and lose height and shot-blocking from the 4 spot (Campbell), while substituting for Jones with one of the worst defensive 3's in the league, somebody should get the credit for the improvement. That's the whole misleading thing about Jackson, triangle, smiangle, his results are from him getting great individual talents to be consistent players and instills a defense first attitude throughout his teams. He may get a lot of talent, but all the coaches before him couldn't same players to the next level. As for Rudy, if I were voting he might make the top 5 (my order might be Jackson, Rivers, Sloan, current Mavs guy, than Rudy)--and this is by Rudy's best regular season coaching job since 94. But if you vote for coach of the year based on who gets the most out of marginal players argument--then the vote has to go to Rivers over Rudy (he definately got more out his team, and he probably had less to work with). If you go with the coach who got his team to perform consistently at the highest level, then the vote obviously has to go with Jackson. I don't see where any vote should have gone to Rudy. ------------------
I would have voted for Doc Rivers if he would have made the playoffs, but other than that, I don't know....Phil & Doc are both great coaches. ------------------ The Chuckwagon came, saw, and threw people through windows!
Who cares if he didn't make the playoffs. They won 41 games, and should have had a record similar to the Bulls. Look at the talent George Karl has, and his team had to beat out the Magic on the last day of the season. I don't see Phil Jackass getting 41 wins out of that team if he had to coach it. It's not hard to win 60+ with the best talent in the league. Can anyone honestly say that Jackass did a better coaching job than Rudy this year? Well Jackass gets 53 votes to none for Rudy. Doc deserves the award, thank God there's at least a little justice in the league. ------------------ "Okay KG, next time down, you give Cousin Billy his turn, then he'll give Uncle Joe his turn, then we'll give Shaq a turn." -Rudy T, in the Dream Team 2000 huddle [This message has been edited by TheFreak (edited April 27, 2000).]
Sir, I do think you are under-estimating the influence of Ron Harper. I think he is part of that defense as well as being a leader on the court. Maybe the team after 3-4 years together are now finally jelling, that is a posibility too. I think the vote came out the way it suppose to, with Doc beating out Jackass.
Sir is right on with his take. It is a close race, but Jackson is NARROWLY this year's coach of the year. If you can take a team that keeps getting swept by the Jazzholes to being the best team in the league in one year, how can you argue? ------------------ Jazzkiller
