Let’s face it – to some extent, an NBA coach will get recognized most for the caliber of players his team is putting on the floor.
So it shouldn’t be all that much of a surprise that the favorites for this season’s NBA Coach of the Year are at the helm of teams that have made big personnel moves.
Let’s go over the top guys, pointing out that the odds come from the good people at BetOnline.
JAMAHL MOSLEY, Orlando Magic +600
Jamahl Mosley didn’t play in the NBA. But he’s found a niche as a head coach and is expected to have some success this season with the Orlando Magic.
His team made a major trade in the off-season and may be ready to move to the next level. It’s really fertile territory in the Eastern Conference, where there might not be a clear-cut favorite.
The Magic have stayed the course with Mosley, whose first season was a dismal 22-60 effort. Two seasons later, they captured the flag in the Southeast Division.
Having now gone out and made a deal for swingman Desmond Bane, the Magic are seen as a team very capable of rising into the top four in the East playoff queue. In anticipation of that. Mosely is listed as the +600 favorite to be named NBA Coach of the Year according to the folks at BetOnline.
Bane, a member of an NIT championship team at TCU, has averaged 21.5, 23.7 and 19.2 points the last three seasons – all for the Memphis Grizzlies.
QUIN SNYDER, Atlanta Hawks +800
Quin Snyder will be starting his fourth season as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, having previously been in that same position with the Utah Jazz for eight seasons.
The Hawks have missed the playoffs the last couple of seasons, and made a few bold moves to add a new dimension to things.
One of them involved a risky, 7-foot-3 bet. Kristaps Porziņģis scores, rebounds, blocks some shots and can hit long-range jumpers. But he hasn’t play close to a full season since he was a rookie.
Luke Kennard, a Dukie like Snyder who has been a reliable three-point shooter in his eight NBA seasons, came into the fold. So did
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who came in a trade with Minnesota, where he was sixth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting last year.
Asa Newell was drafted by New Orleans in the first round, then came over in a trade.
They join an interesting cast.
Among them is Trae Young, who has averaged 25 points for his NBA career. Her’s still more or less the ringleader; the playmakwer, and indceed led the league in assists last season. Jalen Johnson averaged 18.9 points and was the team’s leading rebounder. Zaccharie Risacher was the #12 pick in last year’s draft, then finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Dyson Daniels, a 6-8 guard, is generally regarded as one of the best defensive players in the league.
The newcomers should give Atlanta an opportunity to be very flexible in the wide-open Eastern Conference. So there is cause for optimism.
IME UDOKA, Houston Rockets +900
Udoka already had a pretty good team, but the structure of that team has undergone significant changes.
The most important move, of course, involved acquiring Kevin Durant from Phoenix in a seven-team deal. The Rockets have an All-Star in the front court in Alperen Şengün, but clearly Durant is going to wind up the focus of the offense, and he’ll have to succeed for Udoka to have a chance at the award.
Veteran “glue guy” Dorian Finney-Smith has come aboard, and Clint Capela returns to Houston after a five-year absence.
One big blow came when guard Fred Van Vleet tore his ACL and was declared out for the foreseeable future. Van Vleet had just signed a two-year, $50 million contract.
There are a lot of teams who are already formidable in the Western Conference, along with some non-playoff teams that could emerge. So Udoka’s road is going to be rough if his supporters are going to collect on their +900 ticket.
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