Taking a quick look around the NBA landscape might incline one toward several deserving candidates for coach of the year.
The Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors lead their respective conferences by at least 8.5 games. The former is on pace for 60-plus wins while the latter has already secured No. 60, further lending credence to the work done by coaches Mike Budenholzer and Steve Kerr, respectively.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won’t hit that lofty total, but the leadership displayed by first-year NBA head coach David Blatt has been tremendous. He endured endless criticism early on and has since maneuvered his superstar-laden Cavs—and their often-conflicting personalities—to the No. 2 seed in the East.
Then there’s Tom Thibodeau and Kevin McHale, head coaches of the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets. Both of these hardwood generals have led their clubs to top-three playoff seeds despite each missing a superstar for much of the season.
And if we’re talking about depleted rosters, what about the injury-ravaged Oklahoma City Thunder? Scott Brooks has them secured in the No. 8 slot out West despite losing reigning MVP Kevin Durant for the year and power forward Serge Ibaka until the playoffs.
But since we’re in the business of profiling bona fide candidates and not outside long shots, only two names belong on this list.
2. Mike Budenholzer, Head Coach, Atlanta Hawks (55-18)
Based on the near-20-win improvement from last season and wire-to-wire dominance in 2014-15, the Hawks’ sideline leader easily deserves HCOY honors.
Budenholzer has uplifted his 38-win, one-and-done playoff squad from last year into the unequivocal No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta’s 55-18 record includes the league’s second-best record at home (31-5) and on the road (24-13), a 17-0 mark in January and a fantastic 21-8 aggregate versus the West.
The Hawks rank sixth in both offensive and defensive efficiency, second in assists, third in field goal percentage, fifth in steals and sixth in opposing field goal percentage. Throw in the second-ranked accuracy from downtown and standing as one of the top passing teams in the NBA.
Oh, and did we mention that the Hawks don’t have a single superstar?
Point guard Jeff Teague and forward Paul Millsap are underrated contributors in the backcourt and on the front line, respectively. Kyle Korver owns the Association’s top three-point percentage and center Al Horford is a solid two-way big man that holds his own on both ends of the court as well.
But among those four, only Teague would merit consideration as a star—and certainly not as a superstar.
Point being, Budenholzer has galvanized a unit filled with mostly unheralded pieces and transformed them into a lethal overall whole. The Hawks play shutdown team defense and generate non-stop ball movement on offense that leads to high-percentage shots.
Budenholzer has indoctrinated the lessons he learned in the 17 seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich. He has done so to the effect of turning a playoff afterthought into a contender for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
However, in spite of all these phenomenal and shocking accomplishments, Budenholzer will finish as runner up in the race for head coach of the year.
1. Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State Warriors (60-13)
Based on his near unprecedented success as a first-year head coach and wire-to-wire dominance this season, the Warriors’ sideline general easily deserves HCOY.
Wait, this seems oddly familiar…
Kerr has upgraded a 51-win, playoff-qualifying club from last year into the team with the best record in the NBA. Golden State’s franchise-best 60th win includes an association-leading 34-2 mark at home and 26-11 sum on the road, not to mention wins against all 29 opponents. His squad also owns winning streaks of five (three times), nine (current) and 16, while never losing more than two games in a row.
The Warriors further rank No. 1 in field goal and opposing field goal percentage, three-point shooting, assists, points per game and defensive efficiency. They’re also No. 7 in rebounds, No. 2 in steals and No. 3 in blocks and offensive efficiency.
No team has demoralized the opposition in the third quarter more than Golden State, whose overall point differential of plus-10.9 also rates among the elite in NBA history. Credit Kerr for motivating his guys coming out of halftime and finishing in a similar fashion.
Unlike the Hawks, the Warriors do indeed harbor a superstar. Point guard Stephen Curry is in the race for MVP and fellow “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson is an unmatched two-way shooting guard—and a budding superstar in his own right.
Now, does that detract from what Kerr has accomplished during his first year on the job?
Absolutely not.
Kerr took that 50-plus-win club and turned it into a 60-plus-win powerhouse. He honored the existing defensive mindedness instilled by former head coach Mark Jackson and elevated it into the best in the league.
Better yet, he scrapped an ineffective isolation-based offense and installed a pass-first philosophy predicated on maximum ball movement. Players consistently pass up good shots in order to create great shots for their teammates.
As for the whole superstar bit, Thompson was recently out for a three-game stretch and the Dubs hardly missed a beat. In fact, they crushed their opponents by an average of 16.7 points, including a 19-point devastation of Budenholzer’s Hawks.
Don’t get us wrong, Thompson—and his backcourt partner in crime—are invaluable assets. Golden State won’t advance far in the postseason without them.
Yet Kerr’s system is such that no one player will make or break its effectiveness.
Put simply, it’s a product of the Popovich-coached Spurs—whom Kerr won two championships with—and a superior re-creation to Pop’s protégé in Atlanta.
Budenholzer made a good team great. But Kerr made a potentially great team elite—and one that’s poised to capture an NBA title.
One can only wonder if it comes at the expense of the team whose coach also finishes second in line.
All team and player stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
Follow Joey on Twitter @jlevitt16 as he tries to wax eloquent on all things Warriors, NBA, NFL, MLB and the sports world at large.