Who are they? Mark Jackson is probably the leader at this point. Mike Woodson, Larry Drew, Vinny Del Negro, maybe Vogel so far? Stotts could sneak into consideration. Blazers weren't at all considered for the playoffs this year outside of message boards maniacs. Who else?
He should definitely be considered, but the unfortunate reality is that the award's pretty much got Mike Woodson's name on it, barring some sort of late season meltdown. Not that Woodson's not a great coach, but the media love it when the New York market teams are doing well, and they usually reward them at the end of the season with bullshit like Tyson Chandler's DPOY. Also, looking at the track record, the award tends to go to teams that are at the top of the standings. Since Rivers won it at 41-41 in 2000, the coach with a sub-50 win record to receive the award was Sam Mitchell, at 47-35 and the #3 seed in the East. So right or wrong, it also seems like your team also needs to win 50+ to get Coach of the Year honors.
True... that could happen, and if it does, then Stotts probably deserves the Coach of the Year award. The sad thing is though, the 50+ win mark only seems to be a requirement and not the determining factor. Stotts would still have to win over the media, with their New York bias. Also, in that situation, are we assuming a collapse by Golden State, because if not, what about Mark Jackson? I'd consider him the media's 1b to Woodson's 1a at the moment.
Mark Jackson, for sure! And if Stotts gets us to the POs (still not convinced) he should maybe get some mention.
It's really gotta be Vinny if the Clippers stay at this pace. They have become an elite contender this season. The other coaches should have consideration, but the Clippers are at an entirely different level, IMO.
the difference is that everyone knows Vinny. CP3 is the coach of that team. Mark Jackson is a much more viable candidate. Stotts even right now is better than VDN
