Spo and D'Antoni receive NBCA CotY Award - No Love for BS?

[18isGREATERthan72]

http://www.nba.com/article/2017/05/07/inaugural-michael-goldberg-nbca-coach-year-award-mike-dantoni-erik-spoelstra

Did anyone else see this?  I can't believe Brad Steven's didn't receive a single vote from his fellow coaches, and Doc did.  Coaches can't vote for themselves.

[hpantazo]

Rivers receiving votes negates the validity of this award imo.

[18isGREATERthan72]

Yeah not sure how a Clippers team that by all measure underperformed their expectations was better coached than a team that won the 1st seed while battling injuries all season long.

[18isGREATERthan72]

I can understand Spo or D'Antoni winning it, but the fact that CBS didn't receive a single vote seems insane to me.

[saltlover]

I think it's a joke for Spoelstra to be on top.  It's a Coach of the Year award, not coach of the second half.  That team started out terribly, and ultimately missed the playoffs because of their first 2.5 months.  Good job turning the team around, but since there were no major acquisitions or injuries in the first half, shouldn't he get his fair share of the blame for being a bottom 3 team into mid-January?

[bopna]

I think it's a joke for Spoelstra to be on top.  It's a Coach of the Year award, not coach of the second half.  That team started out terribly, and ultimately missed the playoffs because of their first 2.5 months.  Good job turning the team around, but since there were no major acquisitions or injuries in the first half, shouldn't he get his fair share of the blame for being a bottom 3 team into mid-January?

I agree...we on the other hand showed resilence in the face of adversity..battled from 4th or even 5th place in mid january, lost AB for almost 2 months and still managed to squeeze into the top seed...how in the world do this stupid coaches vote anyway?...Maybe they hate BS because he managed to make Boston a contender despite the obstacles we had to endure.

[Roy H.]

I don't understand how Kerr got a vote. They could use Javale McGee as a player coach and still win 60 games.

[jambr380]

Spoelstra is a total joke. I was disgusted by the decision until I realized this isn't the 'real' coach of the year award. Hopefully D'Antoni rightfully receives the award when it is announced on 6/26.

Of course my choice is Brad Stevens, but there doesn't appear to be any chance of that.

[Eddie20]

This isn't the usual coach of the year award, though. The bolded part is part of the criteria. Did Stevens do any community work?

The Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award recognizes the dedication and hard work of NBA Head Coaches and is presented annually to a Head Coach who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance on the court and shows outstanding service and dedication to the community off the court.

[KGs Knee]

I think it's a joke for Spoelstra to be on top.  It's a Coach of the Year award, not coach of the second half.  That team started out terribly, and ultimately missed the playoffs because of their first 2.5 months.  Good job turning the team around, but since there were no major acquisitions or injuries in the first half, shouldn't he get his fair share of the blame for being a bottom 3 team into mid-January?

I think the argument is Miami was decimated with injuries those first 2.5 months.

Dion Waiters, who turned out to be a very important piece to the Heat, missed 20 games from 11/28 until 1/4.  Basically he played half of the first 40 games.

Also during the first half of the season, Dragic missed 8 games, Josh Richardson missed 10 games, and Justise Winslow only played 18 games all year.

[mctyson]

I can understand Spo or D'Antoni winning it, but the fact that CBS didn't receive a single vote seems insane to me.

The other coaches voted.  They most not think highly of him.

[Birdman]

Miami didn't even make the playoffs and Celtics are a #1 seed..wow

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

What a joke. D'Antoni gets credit for, what? Letting perhaps the most dynamic offensive player in the league do his thing? Real genius there.

And then Spoelstra, whose team doesn't even make the playoffs in a relatively weak Eastern Conference?

[18isGREATERthan72]

This isn't the usual coach of the year award, though. The bolded part is part of the criteria. Did Stevens do any community work?

The Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award recognizes the dedication and hard work of NBA Head Coaches and is presented annually to a Head Coach who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance on the court and shows outstanding service and dedication to the community off the court.

If that's the case, then why were Spo and D'Antoni the top two vote getters?  I thought their main case for them was they had legit arguments for CotY.  I don't necessarily agree, but they are valid arguments.

Also, I realize this isn't the official CotY award, but it is still interesting that CBS didn't receive a SINGLE vote from his peers.

[saltlover]

I think it's a joke for Spoelstra to be on top.  It's a Coach of the Year award, not coach of the second half.  That team started out terribly, and ultimately missed the playoffs because of their first 2.5 months.  Good job turning the team around, but since there were no major acquisitions or injuries in the first half, shouldn't he get his fair share of the blame for being a bottom 3 team into mid-January?

I think the argument is Miami was decimated with injuries those first 2.5 months.

Dion Waiters, who turned out to be a very important piece to the Heat, missed 20 games from 11/28 until 1/4.  Basically he played half of the first 40 games.

Also during the first half of the season, Dragic missed 8 games, Josh Richardson missed 10 games, and Justise Winslow only played 18 games all year.

I find that argument suspect.  Waiters missed nearly half of the second half too.  Dragic missing 8 games in the first half isn't nothing, but they went 11-30 during the first half, including 10-23 with Dragic.  They were also better without Winslow (recordwise) than with him.

The Heat had some injuries this year, but they weren't decimated any more than the Celtics, Cavs, Raptors, or Bucks were.  They were a fine story, but they didn't even make the playoffs.  It's pretty unimpressive in my book.  If they'd gone 30-11 in the first half, before having a few key injuries in the second half and finished 41-41, missing the playoffs, we'd call it one of the biggest collapses ever, and certainly not something that merits postseason coaching accolades.