Yes, but you really can't argue with Kerr #1. They did win the most games in any NBA regular season to date.
Well he did have a worse record coaching the team than the other candidate; Luke Walton. So you can argue it. I'd have probably voted for Pop, then Kerr. All three accomplished historically unprecedented feats. I think it's easier to get a team to around .500 as Terry did than a team from good to great.
It goes to show how screwy 1st-2nd-3rd voting setups are when you can finish a very close second while being a distant second in terms of first place votes.
Stotts did so damn good, they were like "He's Terry stoTTTS!" That's like some damn anime character yell. TERRY STOTTTTTTTS!
There should be an asterisk next to Kerr's name on the award, or they should just rename it Coach of the Half Year. Luke Walton: 39-4 Steve Kerr: 34-5 It was Luke Walton who was on the bench when the Warriors got off to the record 24-0 start and set the pace to win a record 73 games. I like Steve Kerr. I think he's a great coach and a really good guy, and I know he's officially the coach of record for the entire season, but can you imagine someone being voted MVP in a season where they missed 43 games? BNM
More overall votes though. 89 for Kerr, 111 for Stotts. Guessing there were a bunch of writers salty about Kerr missing half the season and left him off.
I'd imagine this is almost a two-year achievement award for Kerr, since I'd guess they're giving him a lot of credit for even the wins the Warriors banked before he officially returned, due to the system and influence established over the year preceding (though, of course, he was unofficially involved even when recovering). I don't think it's a bad choice. I think Walton did a good job, but was largely working within the system and culture Kerr had already established, with assistance from Kerr himself.
Even though Kerr wasn't on the sidelines the first half of the season, he gets credit for setting up the system, the coaching team he's assembled, getting the team all on one page, and you can bet that he was involved in some of the game planning even when he was out. I'd argue that Stotts is more deserving because he achieved more with less, but you can't complain too much about special recognition for a special achievement. Besides, winning COY is sometimes the kiss of death for a coach. Just ask Mike Schuler.
Stotts should have won, by a mile. Also believe Erik Spoelstra should have received more 2nd & 3rd place votes.
Kerr is a great coach and I'm sure he was providing Luke Walton with guidance and advice from his hospital bed, but he was not the one on the sidelines, in the huddles or running practices during those first 44 games, or training camp, or the preseason. To give Kerr this award somewhat diminishes Walton's contributions. Ultimately, Kerr won this award because his team won 73 games, whether he was there, or not, for over half of them. If they had "faltered" and only won 71, the Warriors season would have been much less magical and Kerr's case much less compelling. Everyone was totally fixated on the record setting season. When the Warriors won that 73rd game, it pretty much cemented Kerr as the CoY winner, but I agree with other posters, Stotts had much less to work with and his team exceeded expectations much more than the defending champs who only won 6 more games this season than last. I do agree that this is kind of a two year award for Kerr, that he put his system in place and set up this team for the success they've enjoyed, but he did far less actual coaching this year than Terry Stotts did. The Warriors didn't make any major roster moves. They picked up a few cast aside vets at the trade deadline, but they played the entire season with the same top 8 players as last season. So, in terms of line ups, substitutions, rotations and playing time, they didn't have to make any adjustments at all compared to last season. Stotts, on the other hand, lost 4 starters and 2 of his top 3 bench players. Successfuly integrating that many new players was a monumental accomplishment, especially given how young those players are - it's not like he was given a new roster full of experienced veterans to work with. Glad to see that effort recognized with his 2nd place finish in the CoY voting. Congrats Terry! BNM
To me, what Stotts did was significantly more impressive than what Kerr did. The fact that Walton could step in and coach the team to a BETTER record than what Kerr did, says a lot about how good that team is (with or without Kerr.) I think when you have a team like the Warriors, and a player like Curry, you can have damn near anyone on the sidelines. I mean..... Ty freakin Lue is the "head coach" of the Cavs. What a joke that is.
I agree with this. I thought there were four great candidates this year, Stotts, Kerr, Stevens and the eternal Popovich. Clifford did a nice job, Joerger deserves credit for keeping things together in Memphis and Carlisle is always one of the best coaches in the NBA, but I thought those four were a cut above for this year.
