Richesly
01-02-2015, 12:01 AM
http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3389/coach-of-the-first-trimester-2
Coach of the First Trimester: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta
I know what you're going to say.
You only picked Budenholzer to make yourself look good, Stein.
I get it, too. That's a natural leap to make if you've paid close enough attention to recall that, on both the pages of ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, Budenholzer was my preseason Coach of the Year pick.
Yet I would argue, in response, that you're being overly conspiratorial. Look at Atlanta's roster. Look at the Hawks' record. Look at what they've done these past two weeks alone after everyone dismissed their 16-7 start by citing an easy early schedule.
Don't forget, furthermore, all the Danny Ferry-related turmoil Atlanta lugged into the season and the stability Budenholzer has provided. The Hawks don't have an obvious All-Star and are challenging for the Eastern Conference lead, which is a significant achievement no matter how underwhelming two-thirds of the East looks.
The hard part here, of course, is choosing Budenholzer over Steve Kerr, whose recent 16-game winning streak fell one shy of the record for rookie coaches ... just one win shy of the 17-gamer that a certain Arnold "Red" Auerbach enjoyed as the first-year coach of the Washington Capitols back in 1946-47.
Kerr has made an immediate impact in Golden State, simultaneously making a mockery of the notion -- which yours truly bought into -- that replacing a coach as popular with his players as Mark Jackson would be problematic. Kerr had the Warriors in the top five in offensive and defensive efficiency when he awoke on Christmas morning, spicing things up at the fun end with more ball and player movement without the Dubs losing anything on D ... even with anchor/rim protectorAndrew Bogut playing all of two minutes in Golden State's past nine games.
We're simply giving the slightest of nods to Budenholzer, one-third of the way in, because he has less overall talent and less of a ready-made squad when the season started given Al Horford's gradual return from injury. It must be said, though, that the narrow margins here are reminiscent of how taut things are in the West MVP race.
Other names to earn serious COFT consideration: Portland's Terry Stotts, Houston's Kevin McHale, Toronto's Dwane Casey and Milwaukee's Jason Kidd, who has almost matched Milwaukee's 2013-14 win total with 63 games left on its schedule.
Coach of the First Trimester: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta
I know what you're going to say.
You only picked Budenholzer to make yourself look good, Stein.
I get it, too. That's a natural leap to make if you've paid close enough attention to recall that, on both the pages of ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, Budenholzer was my preseason Coach of the Year pick.
Yet I would argue, in response, that you're being overly conspiratorial. Look at Atlanta's roster. Look at the Hawks' record. Look at what they've done these past two weeks alone after everyone dismissed their 16-7 start by citing an easy early schedule.
Don't forget, furthermore, all the Danny Ferry-related turmoil Atlanta lugged into the season and the stability Budenholzer has provided. The Hawks don't have an obvious All-Star and are challenging for the Eastern Conference lead, which is a significant achievement no matter how underwhelming two-thirds of the East looks.
The hard part here, of course, is choosing Budenholzer over Steve Kerr, whose recent 16-game winning streak fell one shy of the record for rookie coaches ... just one win shy of the 17-gamer that a certain Arnold "Red" Auerbach enjoyed as the first-year coach of the Washington Capitols back in 1946-47.
Kerr has made an immediate impact in Golden State, simultaneously making a mockery of the notion -- which yours truly bought into -- that replacing a coach as popular with his players as Mark Jackson would be problematic. Kerr had the Warriors in the top five in offensive and defensive efficiency when he awoke on Christmas morning, spicing things up at the fun end with more ball and player movement without the Dubs losing anything on D ... even with anchor/rim protectorAndrew Bogut playing all of two minutes in Golden State's past nine games.
We're simply giving the slightest of nods to Budenholzer, one-third of the way in, because he has less overall talent and less of a ready-made squad when the season started given Al Horford's gradual return from injury. It must be said, though, that the narrow margins here are reminiscent of how taut things are in the West MVP race.
Other names to earn serious COFT consideration: Portland's Terry Stotts, Houston's Kevin McHale, Toronto's Dwane Casey and Milwaukee's Jason Kidd, who has almost matched Milwaukee's 2013-14 win total with 63 games left on its schedule.