It’s about time
Having talked about the playoffs, the surprises and disappointments for the season for five months, it’s now about time when everyone starts talking awards. Who is deserving? Who is the best?
The MVP gets the most attention, and already there is a burgeoning debate among Kobe, LeBron and Kevin Garnett with a little Chris Paul thrown in. Kobe and LeBron square off for the best player attention and Garnett, the first half leader, gets the credit for resurrecting the Celtics. Paul is for the -how-are-they-doing-that Hornets.
Though there’s plenty of debate, the voters usually get MVP right.
The one they get wrong almost all the time is coach of the year.
This season it should be the Jazz’ Jerry Sloan.
What, you say, how could it be Sloan when his team last season won 51 games, its division and was in the conference finals?
Because he is the best coach who has done the best job this season. Which is what the award should be.
What the award comes down to, in part, because it is so difficult for so many of the voters to figure out just what the coach is doing, is, essentially, what predictions the voters got wrong.
The voters, mostly print and broadcast media, generally rate teams based on what they’ve seen before and what they expect for this season based on that. So if a team generally does better than expected, well, it must be coaching.
That’s how Sam Mitchell won last year, which was ludicrous. Same with Doc Rivers back in 2000 in his rookie coaching season, though Rivers has come a long way since then and is a legitimate coach of the year candidate this season. Also, Hubie Brown with Memphis in 2004. Those teams merely were underestimated by voters who hadn’t seen them before and didn’t take into account the personnel changes they’d made. Yes, all those coaches contributed and did good jobs those seasons, but I doubt any were the best coach at the time.
There’s a lifetime achievement element in my pick of Sloan as he never has won the award despite more than 1,000 coaching wins and just one losing season in the last 19, 20, actually, as the Jazz is just a few wins from Sloan’s 19th winning season in the last 20. C’mon gentleman and ladies, what are you watching!
Sloan, of course, would recoil at receiving an award for longevity. He’s upset enough when he receives any award he deserves.
But you have to consider what is great coaching since there is little secret to the pick and roll, except to the USA team a few years ago against Greece in the World Championships. Ah, but I digress.
Obviously coaches have to communicate, and Sloan has his unique form that is, shall we say, direct. Whatever, it’s worked as his players never fail to play hard and compete. He’s what everyone would call the tough guy, not exactly the so called players’ coach. Yet, his practices are relatively brief and he delegates more responsibility to assistants than perhaps any coach in the NBA. It’s not about credit and control for Sloan, but confidence. You’ll never see his name in the dictionary by ego, where many NBA coaches reside.
Though to many the ultimate test of a great coach is whether he can adjust and put players in position to succeed.
That’s mainly why Sloan, to me, is the coach of the year.
For more than a decade I watched Sloan’s Jazz with John Stockton and Karl Malone methodically wipe out teams with a series of crushing pick and rolls, relentlessly and continually, going again and again until the team got something. Opponents moaned about Stockton, perhaps the toughest six footer ever, calling him dirty. Big guys don’t like those interior screens put on them and Stockton never stopped, bumping, holding, pulling, grabbing, shouldering, whatever it took. And with that “Who, me?” look.
Malone? He was tough and mean. His blows were out there for everyone to see and they knew they were coming. More opposing power forwards got the flu in Salt Lake City than any other American city, Yes, Maloneitis.
And so they went and it’s now Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, a terrific point guard and power forward.
Tough? Not that much. Mean? Not really. Defensive oriented? Not at all.
So here’s Sloan, who was the most in-you-face player when he played and had that type of team with Malone and Stockton.
And now his Jazz is an offensive juggernaut with a seven footer in Mehmet Okur firing up threes and needing a roadmap to find the lane. He’s got a smallish power forward in Boozer who is one of the poorest at his position in blocks and in defensive quickness. He’s got a terrific point guard in Williams who isn’t that enamored of defense, but will match anyone on offense. He plays one small forward who was run out of the East for a lack of defense in Kyle Korver and another in Matt Harpring who’d play it if he could, but his knees are like kindling.
The Jazz average more than 105 points per game, fifth in the NBA, offensive proficiency rarely heard of for the Jazz until the last few seasons with Malone and Stockton when league scoring was down. Their field goal defense is 21st. They’re 24th in rebounding, but second in assists. They trail just the Warriors, Suns, Lakers and Nuggets in scoring average. You never want to get down in the trenches with any Jerry Sloan team. Yet, there’s no one in the West the Jazz can’t run with.
Jerry Sloan’s run-and-gun Jazz?
It’s really what the great coaches do.
Pat Riley was Showtime in L.A. and then Thugtime in New York. Whatever it took.
Phil Jackson believed in defense and equal opportunity from the Red Holzman days until Jackson came to the Bulls to find the game’s best scorer.
Gregg Popovich believed in throwing it down to his big guys and waiting for the double team and rotation for an open shot -wake me while I think about that offense- until he got road runner Tony Parker and manic Manu Ginobili. So it became Pop goes the Spurs.
There are several good candidates for coach of the year, and the Hornets’ Byron Scott probably is the early favorite with his team in the midst of the West race when many had them missing the playoffs. Yet, that was an injured and uncertain Hornets team on the move again last season. Rivers has been terrific with the Celtics in hanging in and pushing the defensive buttons. Stan Van Gundy has worked around several missing parts and one transcendent center to give the Magic purpose and Rick Adelman has weathered injury and uncertainty and changed with the desires of the talent to produce an unlikely contender after a slow start. All are deserving candidates and good coaches. And Jackson has remained steadfast and determined in believing in the Lakers and having his players respond.
Still, I’m on board for Sloan. Though don’t tell him because if he wins it will only make him mad.
But no coach has done better in adjusting to his talent, emphasizing its strengths and accepting its weaknesses and producing consistent effort and success. It’s simply what coaching is about and Sloan continues to do it as well as anyone.
Pssst. Pass it on.
Lupe Said,
March 5, 2008 @ 9:38 pm
I agree with your article, and nothing to add except: SLOAN FOR COTY!!!
Jordan Said,
March 5, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
Yes Sir!
Omar Aberilla Said,
March 6, 2008 @ 12:33 am
I agree, Jerry Sloan deserved it back when those Bulls made their Championship runs. He deserves it more so now, that the Jazz has been one of the most consistent and winningest teams in the past year or so even without having your prototypical superstars, at least in the media’s and scouts’ points of view. Personally, I’d choose Deron Williams over CP3, in terms of leadership, playmaking ability and the clutch factor. Going back, I respect Sloan for being firm in his belief in his system. Mike D’Antoni has sold out and bought into Kerr’s way, giving up his run-and-gun style to make room for Shaq. I respect Sloan’s old school, tough love relationship with his players and his unrelenting enthusiasm for the game of basketball. But most importantly, I admire him for reviving a Jazz team that has been used to winning and now looks to continue doing just that for years to come, with their current core of players.
Dave Said,
March 6, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
I totally agree with you, Sloan is the best coach in the NBA and has deserved the award more than once in his career. If you have a chance to watch a Jazz game and another NBA game at the same time notice the offensive flow of the Jazz, there is no standing around watching….everyone is involved and works hard. Most other teams hand it to their studs and they play one on one….no coaching needed……just ask the Nuggets fans how they like that kind of offense.
Jason Said,
March 6, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
I think it would be difficult to pick this year as “the year” to give Jerry Sloan Coach of the Year. The bottom line is this Jazz team is not a case of a coach shaping the style of a team, but a talented team forcing a coach to adapt his style. Coach Sloan deserves a ton of recognition for that, but in my mind, coach of the year should go to the coach that squeezes the most out of what he has, or turns a solid team into a championship team.
Deron Williams is an outstanding point guard- it doesn’t take John Wooden to get wins out of Deron (a point guard that at times has over-powered the mighty Chris Paul). Carlos Boozer is a gifted interior scorer- not too many of those left in the NBA. Andrei Kirilenko (albeit a bit of a headcase…pick a NBA locker room that doesn’t have at least one!) is one of the most versatile players in the game. Kyle Korver is a terrific shooter, Ronnie Brewer is a tremendous athlete with great potential, and Mehmet Okur is one of the best shooting big men in basketball.
While Sloan has done a great job as a coach, I believe its the Jazz front office that deserves most of the recognition for their success and the talent they put together, and how quickly they rebuilt a team after they lost two of the NBA’s all time Top 50.
As the article states, Jerry Sloan isn’t the kind of self-centered coach that equates awards to success. He’ll get his due when he’s inducted to the NBA Hall of Fame- which is a lock. As for Coach of the Year? How bout someone that’s brought hope to underachieving teams, or coaches that have yet to receive enough recognition yet: Stan Van Gundy, Nate McMillan, and Byron Scott all deserve the nod over Sloan - at least this year, anyway.
P.S. Side note: it would be outrageous to hand Kevin Garnett the MVP, which is a strong possibility. I forgot - at what point did Ray Allen not become a factor? The Celtics were Paul Pierce’s team, and he needed help. He finally got a ton of help in Garnett and Allen….and I suppose because Garnett is so tall, he deserves the league MVP? He’s not even the go-to-guy on his own team - Pierce and Allen both deserve the final shot over Garnett, and once Cassell suits up, so does he! MVP race is between Kobe and Lebron, the two best players in the game this season. But perhaps since Pau Gasol supplied the size the Lakers needed, I guess he should be the MVP over Kobe, huh?
Melvin Said,
March 7, 2008 @ 8:05 am
Sloan has really stamped his class as one of the greatest coach in the NBA history….IStill feel he won’t win this years award though…
http://basketballnonsense.blogspot.com/
MC Welk Said,
March 7, 2008 @ 11:44 am
If Scorsese won for The Departed, Jerry is certainly a qualified COY.
Karl Roemer Said,
March 8, 2008 @ 3:23 am
Interesting and highly debateable topic, but for mine, it is Doc Rivers …
He really has done very well making the Celtics gel in such a short space of time since the shrewed trades by Danny Ainge.
JT Said,
March 9, 2008 @ 1:16 am
Doc Rivers was a bad coach for Boston until KG and Ray showed up. This year it should go to Jerry Sloan. 2nd place is Rick Adelman. 3rd is Stan Van Gundy. 4th is Byron Scott. 5th is Flip Saunders. 6th is Phil Jackson. 7th is Gregg Poppovich. 8th is Rivers. 9th is Avery Johnson. 10th is Nate McMillan. 11th is Mike D’Antoni.
Clay Davis Said,
March 9, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
Jerry Sloan has been deserving of this award for the past 12 years. He’s won when Utah had good teams and not so good teams. He should have won this award by now. Who knows, maybe John Amaechi is blackballing him (no pun intended).
Clay Davis Said,
March 9, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
Oh yeah, all this talk about Doc Rivers being a good coach…. hog wash. Look back at some of his old games and his decision making in late game situations, it’s horrible. Byron Scott used to be as bad, but he’s improved. Don’t give the crown to Doc just yet, I’m pretty sure the kid from Wonder Years could coach the Celtics to all those wins. The roster is pretty good.
Andrew Fernandes Said,
March 11, 2008 @ 9:25 am
i agree.. sloan should’ve won last year but maybe this is his year.
coaches vouches for trades too right? the korver trade for a disgruntled giricek was awesome.. plus keeping ak47 in check? that is more than coaching…
he totally deserves the award this year… teaching williams to be patient, making boozer he is the bruiser than he is and making the most out of okur, harpring and my boy, ronnie brewer!
evaluating, motivating, winning.. isn’t coaching all about it?
Carl Said,
March 11, 2008 @ 11:46 am
Sam, how about touching on some Kobe/Jordan comparisons in a future blog. In my opinion you are the best NBA columnist in the business…been reading you for years, and while I’ve moved from my beloved Chicago I still pick up the Trib from time to time to read your columns.
Chucky Said,
March 11, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
I agree with this mostly, but some of it is just wrong.
Memo has been taking the ball to the hoop more now than ever before. In fact, his outside shot took off when he started powering his way down the lane. He has been hitting on far more 2’s than 3’s and his accuracy in every regard has gone up.
Deron routinely plays solid defense on the best point guards. He has owned Chris Paul, and outplayed Nash and Kidd most recently. His defense is not Kobe level, obviously, but he is FAR from a no-show on defense.
The same is true for most of the other players. You can’t just continually outrun teams in this league, you have to play defense to win. The Jazz play a team-defense that works. It generates defensive rebounds that lead to excellent executiong at the other end.
Don’t underestimate them. The Jazz may just run away with it all this year.
Junior Said,
March 11, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
Sloan is a great coach don’t get me wrong but he definitely doesn’t deserve it this year. I would have said yes last year but this year it has to go to Byron Scott or Rick Aldeman they have done terrific jobs with their respective teams. Nate McMillan should also make some noise this year to.
McFly Said,
March 12, 2008 @ 10:35 am
Sloan SHOULD have won after the 03-04 season. This team should have probably won 20 games– and that’s without even considering the Jazz used 18 different players that year due to injuries!! This was probably the worst roster in NBA history to have a WINNING RECORD!
FRANCHISE PLAYERS:
Andrei Kirilenko
Matt Harpring
Raja Bell
Carlos Arrojo
YOUNG STUDS:
Mo Williams ( rookie season- under 5ppg )
Sasha Pavlovic ( rookie season- under 5ppg )
Curtis Borchardt— WHO?
Raul Lopez– Where is he now?
AND LETS NOT FORGET—-
Ben Handlogten
Michael Ruffin
Paul Grant
Keon Clark
Mikki Moore
Greg Ostertag
Jarron Collins
Gordan Giricek
Tom Gugliotta
DeShawn Stevenson
Bill Said,
March 12, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
Rick Adelman is the coach of the year.
Took a defensive team and made them an offensive team.
Kept the rockets winning without yao.
No coach has done a better job coaching his team this year than Rick.
Eric Ginsberg Said,
March 16, 2008 @ 7:02 am
Jerry Sloan for COTY
Eric Ginsberg Said,
March 16, 2008 @ 7:02 am
COTY
rob Said,
March 25, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
well..
i’m not going to say i’m not a jazz fan (I am.) I’m also not going to tote on about how deserving Sloan is for this award year after year (look back at his records.. he has had 2 losing seasons his entire career as a head coach (1 in chicago, 1 in utah.. 22 seasons as a head coach in the NBA.. )
now, sloan never has the most talented players (aside from John and Karl, look at the role players on those teams.. Shannon Anderson? Adam Keefe?.. yeah Honacek was legit, but no where near as deep as the Detroit and Spurs teams of late)
this Jazz team is very young (reminicent of the 88-90 Jazz teams.. could be a rematch of that piviotal WCF between the Jazz and the Lakers in the late 80s) they probably won’t come into their own until next year or the year after that..
the point is.. Sloan has weathered a lot in Utah.. i remember a few years back in fact it was a “season preview” video put out by the local jazz TV crew looking to rebuild after Malone and Stockton stopped playing.. they said they wanted to build a team like Dallas (which at the time had Nash/Nowitzski tons of great role players and the same coach ) the Jazz’s long term goals at that point was to stick with the same guys and work our ways back to the top.. and we’re on that road now
Sloth Said,
March 29, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
jerry sloan has certainly deserved COY many times just not this time. right now it is a toss up between Adelmen, Rivers, and Scott. i think sloan deserved it over sam mitchell last season, it was clear by how the jazz performed in the playoffs compared to the raptors. and sloan should have won a championship in 98 because when MJ hit that gamewinner he got open by pushing off Jeff Hornacek,but the refs swallowed their whistles and did not make the correct call cuz they felt bad for MJ. Sloan has deserved COY many times, just not this one.
Mark Welling Said,
April 6, 2008 @ 9:55 am
I don’t know what you guys are talking about ISIAH THOMAS is clearly the COTY!!! He took a team of over paid players(of which he signed/traded for), and got more wins than any Knicks fan thought possible. He changed his coaching style: He started to show up late to practices, just like his players; he was involved in off the court issues(multi-million dollar lawsuit) to make the players feel more at home in New York; and he has perfected the look of doom and despair on the sideline(a look he really tried to master while bankrupting the CBA). If you use the logic of making Scott or Adelman COTY(producing more then what was expected of them), then Isiah SHOULD be given it for not being fired(and for still just being alive considering all the wackos in New York). Everyone thought he would be fired, he isn’t…COTY.
In reality J. Slo did a great coaching Job this year, and is deserving(as he has been for 19 out of 20 years) of COTY. He won’t win the award though. First, to win an award like this the team needs to campaign for it to happen. Much like the Blazers did for Brandon Roy by sending out free Ipods(that they renamed I-Roys) to people selecting the All-Star reserves. Second, Sloan has many people in the media that don’t like him. A lot of that has to do with some ex-players. I can’t imagine that Marc Jackson, a player that tried to start a player mutany and is now working for ESPN/ABC, will be throwing his vote or support to Jerry. Lastly, the COTY is like the MVP award. Different people have different opinions about what the award means. In the case of the MVP, some voters think it should go to the best player, while others think it is the player that means the most to their team, and others make the argument for the player that put a team on their back making them better. This confussion leads to errors in the awarding of the trophy. The COTY award has turned into, “Wow, we the all knowing sports writers thought that team was going to be awful and they weren’t! It must be coaching” award. The Jazz now, like the Stockton/Malone version, are looked at as a very talented team where coaching isn’t needed. Yet, they aren’t talented enough to have the award given to Sloan for ‘handling egos.’
I am glad that J. Slo doesn’t care about the award. That is what makes him into a great coach.