Little General's shot at history

[RonnieBrewer (急凍人布魯爾)]

Matty Burns > Inside The NBA 

Little General's shot at history
Back-to-back COY awards in reach, but Sloan looms
Posted: Wednesday March 7, 2007 1:15PM

In any other year, it would be a no-brainer. Coach of the Year? Obviously it
has to go to Avery Johnson.

In just his second full season, the Mavs' coach has guided his team to a
league-leading 51-9 record following Tuesday's win against New Jersey. Dallas
recently became the first team in NBA history to record three win streaks of
12 or more games, and its win percentage (.850) puts the club on pace to
finish 69-13. If so, that would tie the 1996-97 Bulls and '71-72 Lakers for
the second-best regular-season record of all time, behind only the '95-96
Chicago team that won 72 games.

So why is the Little General anything but a lock to bag this year's Red
Auerbach trophy?

Three reasons. One, he won the award last year. Two, his team was supposed
to be good. Three, Jerry Sloan.

No coach has ever won the award in back-to-back seasons. The media, which
selects the winner in balloting conducted by the NBA, seem to prefer to spread
the love around. Phil Jackson, for example, was denied a repeat selection
in '97 despite winning those 69 games (Miami's Pat Riley won instead).

Fair or not, preseason expectations often work against a coach. Never mind
that Johnson had to pick up the Mavs emotionally from a devastating loss in
the Finals and work in several new faces; the bottom line is Dallas was
supposed to be one of the top teams this season. It's just not as sexy as a
coach who takes a bad team and makes it decent, as Hubie Brown (with Memphis
in '03-04) and Doc Rivers (with Orlando '99-00) did in claiming recent COY
trophies.

Perhaps the biggest factor weighing against Johnson, however, is the presence
of Sloan. Incredibly, the venerable Jazz coach has never won the award in his
19 seasons in Salt Lake City. It is going to be difficult for a lot of media
voters to pass him up again, especially given the fantastic job he has done
in leading Utah to the NBA's fourth-best record.

Here's our breakdown of the top COY candidates as of this moment, ranked in
order of their likelihood to win the award:

Jerry Sloan
Don't dismiss it strictly as a career achievement award. The Jazz have
improved dramatically from last year's 41-41 campaign. While Carlos Boozer's
return to health has been a big part, Sloan has kept them playing hard every
night and executing as sharply as any team in the league.

Avery Johnson
His Mavs are the sixth fastest to 50 wins in NBA history. He didn't panic
when they started 0-4, and he has continued their amazing transformation into
a defensive-oriented club. But given the circumstances, it might take 70 wins
for Johnson to repeat.

Sam Mitchell
If a dramatic turnaround is the criterion, he's an obvious choice. The
Raptors, who underwent a complete overhaul to the roster and a change to a
more up-tempo playing style, are the NBA's biggest surprise. Mitchell's
steady hand has been even more impressive since he was widely rumored to be
on the hot seat going into the season.

Phil Jackson
Despite a slew of injuries from day one of training camp, he found a way to
make the Lakers one of the top teams in the West during the first half. He
even convinced Kobe Bryant to sacrifice his scoring average for the good of
the team. The loss of several key players has taken a toll of late, but
overall it is shaping up to be one of Jackson's best coaching jobs.

Jeff Van Gundy
Like his rival the Zen Master, Van Gundy deserves major credit for helping
keep his team afloat during Yao Ming's injury. The Rockets managed to go
20-12 after their 7-5 center went down with a broken leg, and it wasn't just
because of Tracy McGrady's scoring skills. Houston also leads the league in
field goal percentage allowed (.427).



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/
marty_burns/03/07/coy.race/index.html 

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