I'm sure Avery will win and I wouldn't be angry. That said, Avery didn't suffer any major injuries plus JVG had a MUCH larger improvement over last season. Team turnarounds often is a major factor in deciding COY. Avery's 4 game sweep out of the finals left a sour taste so I'd guess folks view on Avery is slightly tinged ...even though last season shouldn't factor into it.
There is not one person on planet earth that could honestly say, prior to the season, they expected 50+ wins and HCA in the 1st round even if a) Yao went down for 30 games b) T-Mac went down for 10 (and missed most of 2-3 more games) and c) Bonzi pretty much a non factor all season long.
I did, I expected the team to be contending for the number 2 or 3 seed....... Especially the way Yao progressed last year. DD
The question is whether you predicted it with said Yao going down for 30 games, TMac missing 10, Bonzi not playing, and perhaps most importantly, VSpan not playing. If Yao was a huge factor in your prediction, wouldn't his injury have some effect on your expectation?
Never was a Gundy fan, but seeing him coach this team to 52-wins/HCA, WITH your leading scorer down for 33-games, and your best player hampered by a bad back, with Chuck Hayes as your starting power foward, Rafer as your third leading scorer, and with Bonzi crapping out.........damn...... No other coach had it that bad this season, and we've still got the 4th best record in the conference! COY, should be a no brainer.
avery will probably get it but i dont think he's done a better coaching job, especially considering he hasnt faced any real adversity.
The Mavs were expected to be the top team coming in to this season. Plus, even though you really can't hold this against Avery, no coach has won two years in a row. I hope JVG wins this award for the reasons mentioned in this thread. Sam Mitchell deserves some praise, but most of the work this season was done by Bryan Colangelo (as stupid as that sounds). Plus, the Raps are playing in the worst division in basketball, constantly beating their inferior division opponents. The Rockets play in the toughest division in basketball and lost Tmac/Yao for 40+ game, but STILL have 50+ wins. Jazz won 41 games last year, so what they have done isn't a huge improvement over last year. Their record is also inflated due to their hot start. If you look at the big picture, I don't see how JVG cannot win this award.
Saying Avery Johnson should be coach of the year is like saying Osama bin Laden should be our next president. It's a traveshamockery, and it's blaspheemious.
when does it get awarded.. if it can somewhat help the rox chances getting past the first round, then why not..
Agreed- I never wanted him to be our coach-never was a fan of his. This team has overcome a lot and Van Gundy should get his share of the praise. The team performance without Yao will never be forgotten by fans. This was really special.
Yes, but Yao being injured is not as important to the team as Tmac being injured. Not that he is less important, but that Tmac can lead the team in Yao's absence to be competitive, whereas Yao needs someone to get him the ball, and thus can not really dominate a game the way the rules are currently structured. So, even with Yao out I still think this team could have been a number 3 seed, just think of all those games they blew to weaker opponents..... DD
I figured that they would win about 56-58 games this year, and I factored in about 10 games missed for Yao and Tmac...... DD
i dont think any other coach dealt with as much and still got the team to 50 wins. I think the 50 win teams are Utah, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Dallas, and Phoenix. So its a toss up, i think of those teams we faced more adveristy and had same basic record as Detroit, and Utah so toss them out. Dallas beats San Antonio or Phoenix so basically its Avery or Gundy
I couldn't agree with you more, somebody should win something, dammit. Congratulations on a great season coach. And in a manner only JVG could appreciate, during this time of celebration and accomplishment, i'd like to add that you should work on your offensive strategy and play calling so that you can continue to improve as an NBA coach.
What were you predicting on Dec 25th, 2006? Most of us would have been very happy with 45 wins at that point in the season.
56-58 wins, ....puts at a 4th seed, which is what we are ...and we lost Yao to 3 times as many games as you predicted I'd say the Rockets exceeded your expectations then! glad we finally agree on something
To me, anybody can captain a ship in calm waters. It's how you captain when you're in the middle of a storm that sets you apart from the others. DI Van Gundy all the way! RR
Sloan has to be the COY, and by a wide margin! Just look at how far that team has come from, and how those young players have developed. Two of his players made the all-star team, and I thought Williams should made it, too, in place of Park.
The voters are going to remember the most recent thing before they vote--- that's April... and Utah sucked in April. Thus, no COY for Jerry.
