I am going to be pissed.........This coach has shown nothing but a firm grasp on coaching. Stotts does have feed back to Olshey on the type of players he needs but I still don't believe he has the right mix quite yet. I know people like to complain when certain players don't play every night but Stotts know's his players. He know's his players so well that he looks to use them (Willingly) at the right game, the right time, the right amount of time, and most importantly - the right reason to use them. He simply finds the right level of value in each player and knows when to call their numbers. It's a far cry from the McMillan days when Coach McMillan would simply substitute based off of the game clock. Coach Stotts is simply a 12 string orchestra and he knows what note to hit at the right time and pitch. If he doesn't win coach of the year then I will be pissed for him.
If Hornacek gets Phoenix to the playoffs, it's his to win. And I'd have no problem with it. Portland was slated to be a 7th-8th seed. Phoenix was slated by a lot of people to be dead last.
Yeah, and the voters are going to look at Stotts with his two stars and Horny with his rag tag bunch of guys.
Portland was out of the playoffs in 9th/10th spot by about as many analysts that had us in it. If we get a top 4 seed its going to stotts, if we get 5 or lower hornacek gets it. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
and who deserves it, Portland has been healthy and was expected to be decent, Phoenix has had injuries and were supposed to be tankzilla.
I think it's Hornacek. What an amazing job he's done in Phoenix. Seriously. On paper that team is atrocious. It kills me, because Stotts is certainly a deserving candidate. However, the only way Stotts gets it is if we make it to the NBA Finals.
No problem with that at all. Stotts has 2 All-Stars, Phoenix's center, a solid SG and one of the better SFs in the league. Phoenix has...
Right now I would go with Jeff. But there is a lot of basketball left. Technically both Portland and Phoenix could slide out of the playoffs. Portland is 6 games up (In the loss column) on Memphis and Phoenix is just 1. Voters may be influenced on how a team finishes as it will be fresh in their minds. Terry could still win it if Phoenix goes on a slide.
So, how bummed are you if you're Utah, knowing Hornacek would have loved to have replaced Sloan and you chose...Corbin?
Aren't these sorts of awards based solely on the regular season? If that's the case the only way Stotts can snag it away from Hornacek is if he somehow devises and implements a competent defensive strategy and figures out some new offensive strategies for when the outside shot isn't falling and teams are going on 10-0 runs against us.
I am guessing a LOT! From living in Utah all those years I can tell you they absolutely love Hornacek.
And Hornacek loved them. You have to imagine that Hornacek reached out to Utah. I wonder if Stockton would ever consider coaching that team? One of the smartest players to every play. I don't think there is a player in NBA history that ever did more with less physical talent, not to mention he was the on-court extension of Sloan on the floor for the Jazz.
There are a lot of candidates. What about Casey, Clifford, and whoever is keeping Atlanta going? My vote now goes to Hornacek but they have a lot of road games to end the season.
If you're a fan of Stotts, you don't want him winning that award anyway. The coach that wins always seems to be fired within a year or two after winning.
