Nate McMillan, head coach of the Portland Trailblazers. I feel the same way, Nate...
Today, the results for the NBA Coach of the Year award were announced with Mike Brown of the Cleveland Cavaliers coming out on top. I think the NBA missed out on a great opportunity to recognize a truly deserving coach: Nate McMillan.
At the beginning of the season, Nate McMillan was entering his fourth year as head coach of the Portland Trailblazers. In each of the three prior years, the team’s record had shown marked improvements, winning 21, 32, and then 41 games. Nate would be handed the challenge of continuing to improve despite the fact that, in many ways, he had a brand new team on his hands. Four new rookies were coming in: the former #1 pick, reigning MVP of the Summer League, a Spaniard, and a 19-year-old French kid.
Nate McMillan proceeded to guide the youngest team (take LaFrentz away) to home court advantage in the Western Conference. Nearly a third of Blazer minutes were occupied by rookies, for crying out loud! I fear that the NBA has overlooked one of the great stories of this NBA season.
This time last year, everybody was infatuated with the youthful New Orleans Hornets, guided by the eventual Coach of the Year, Byron Scott. Why isn’t anybody infatuated with Nate? I would think that leading a bunch of rookies to the 4-seed in the West would be more impressive to the rest of the nation. There are also countless small things Nate has done – dealing with the drama surrounding Greg Oden, finding a replacement for the injured Martell Webster (starting small forward), and guiding international rookies into major roles on the team.
Nate epitomizes the award. He doesn’t have LeBron, he doesn’t have Yao, he doesn’t have Dwight Howard, etc. He has a few third-year players and a bunch of rookies leading this team. He used his entire team more than anybody else in the league (most bench points in the NBA), and coached the Blazers to be the best offensive rebounding team, too. These are staggering accomplishments considering the experience of his players. With Nate McMillan not only not winning, but finishing fourth in voting, I don’t even understand what Coach of the Year is supposed to reward. It seems to me that it's becoming just another NBA popularity contest...
Comments
Well written article. I do think Nate has done a heck of a job of guiding those young guys to where they are right now. I'd agreed with you on your last sentence that "I don’t even understand what Coach of the Year is supposed to reward. It seems to me that it's becoming just another NBA popularity contest...
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I agree, McMillan has done an excellent job with this young team and management is to be applauded for keeping the youngsters and not going after Vince Carter or one of those past-his-prime stars. We tried that with Pippen, Abdur Rahim and others in the past, and it rarely worked to the team's advantage. Batum has great potential. Not so sure about Travis who still has to learn defense. Anyway, back to McMillan. Sometimes I wish he'd get angrier with his players when they mess-up (especially on defense). Maybe he does and we just don't see it in public. Also, sometimes I think he yanks the starters too soon. When players are on a roll, he should keep them in there and keep the momentum going. Anyway, we have a good one in McMillan, even if the league doesn't fully appreciate him.
This is from your fellow examiner www.examiner.com/x-6251-Eastern-Oregon-Adventure-Travel-Examiner who not only hikes but loves the Blazers!
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