NBA Awards Watch: The Budenholzer-Kerr conundrum
By Brad Rowland
Coach of the Year
- Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks – The Atlanta Hawks are 53-14. I repeat. The Atlanta Hawks are 53-14. That lofty record isn’t the whole positive thing to say about Mike Budenholzer, but it certainly tells the story about his coaching performance. The Hawks were generally picked as a middle-of-the-pack playoff team in the East, and with their current status as a runaway number one seed, Budenholzer takes (deserved) credit for leading a roster that isn’t dominated by a singular entity but rather by an ultra-efficient team concept.
- Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors – Golden State continues to be the best team in the league, posting the NBA’s best record (53-13) and net rating (+11.5 points per 100 possessions). That, of course, always helps in the Coach of the Year race, and when the man in charge is a rookie coach who has provided visible improvement on the offensive end, the picture becomes clear. Kerr and Budenholzer will get together as the Hawks and Warriors face off on Wednesday in Oakland, but regardless of the winner, you can’t go wrong with either choice.
- Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics – Don’t look now, but the Boston Celtics have vaulted into a three-way tie for the seventh seed in the East after five consecutive wins. One look at Boston’s roster would indicate that they have no business being in the playoff race, but Stevens has done incredible work at molding the sometimes mediocre talent that he is presented with nightly. The Celtics do have some solid core assets, but most of them are niche pieces at this point, and the former Butler head coach is already looking the part of an upper-tier NBA coach in the middle of his second season.
Next: Most Improved Player