NBA Coach of the Year

NBA: Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks
NBA: Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks

Outside of the MVP race, the next most interesting and competitive award in the NBA this season is the Coach of the Year. Typically, the award is given to the coach whose team far exceeds expectations or whose team is decimated by devastating injuries, yet remains afloat. This year there are several worthy candidates: Mike D'Antoni of the Rockets, Scott Brooks of the Wizards, Brad Stevens of the Celtics, and Erik Spoelstra of the Heat. Just like the MVP, despite there being many worthy candidates, only one coach can claim the award. That coach should be Erik Spoelstra.

Yes, Brad Stevens surprisingly has the Celtics in first place in the Eastern Conference, and yes, in their first year with their new teams both D'Antoni and Brooks have their teams near the top of their respective conferences, but no one is doing more with less than the man down in South Beach. Spoelstra has the Heat in the playoff picture with a record of 37-39. That seems mediocre until you consider that they began the season 11-30. Most teams would have folded, but Erik Spoelstra didn't allow that. Since that tumultuous start, Spoelstra and the Heat have won 26 of 35 games. That is the best record in the NBA over that span. In a season that seemed lost from the start of free agency when franchise legend Dwyane Wade departed for Chicago, the Heat have been able to keep their heads above water and because of their resilience and the masterful coaching of Erik Spoelstra, they will find themselves in the postseason yet again in 2017.