We’ve reached the midpoint of an NBA season that has been filled with surprises — Detroit and Boston lead the East, San Antonio is second in the West — and also far too many injuries to stars. It’s also given us jaw-dropping moments, and not just the ones Victor Wembanyama seems to deliver us on a nightly basis.
The midpoint also means it’s time to take stock of the NBA postseason awards. All week long, I will make my picks for some of the NBA’s top awards at this point in the season, plus get betting angles from NBC Sports experts. Today: Coach of the Year.
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NBA Coach of the Year: Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)
2. J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
3. Jordan Ott (Suns)
Analysis of Coach of the Year race
This is always one of the hardest decisions of the year, in part because there are so many good coaches in the NBA. At different points in the past month, I had each of those top three as the winner. Right now, I am leaning toward Mazzulla.
It was difficult before the season started to find a mention of the Boston Celtics without the words «gap year» attached — Joe Mazzulla was having none of that. He has shown he can do more with less, putting role players in position to thrive and keeping the defense respectable despite not having a great rim protector on the roster. Mazzulla has a ring, but this is his best coaching job.
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Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff is almost in a coin flip with Mazzulla for me, although it’s two years of work — don’t forget that two years ago this was a historically bad 14-win season. It’s more than Cade Cunningham, Bickerstaff has helped Jalen Duren develop and put him in positions to succeed. He has coached the Pistons to the second-best defense in the league by understanding the talent he has and working to maximize it. Jordan Ott didn’t just help change the culture in Phoenix, he has changed the defensive scheme to fit this roster and thrive, and he completely changed the shot diet for the Suns. Ott has been brilliant.
Mitch Johnson from the Spurs deserves consideration, as he has the Spurs far ahead of schedule. Do not forget about Mark Daigneault and his ability to keep the Thunder focused when most teams coast. David Adelman in Denver has to be mentioned in this conversation, the Nuggets have been hit hard with injuries and just keeps winning. Erik Spoelstra deserves a lot of credit for what has gone right in Miami this season.
Betting Coach of the Year Race
We reached out to the NBC Sports betting experts for their thoughts on the Rookie of the Year race and how they might bet it.
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Jay Croucher, NBC Sports Lead Betting Analyst
A very strong field this year, but JB Bickerstaff deserves favoritism and should win the award if the Pistons hang onto the #1 seed. A team built in his image, Bickerstaff has taken a 14-68 team to a probable 1-seed in just two years.
