Rick Carlisle Deserves Coach of the Year Votes

With the Dallas Mavericks clinching yet another playoff spot for the 15th time in 16 seasons, it’s time Rick Carlisle gets some Coach of the Year votes.

Before the start of the 2015-16 NBA season, the outlook and predictions for the Dallas Mavericks were all but grim coming from most national media sites. Predictions from the bottom of the West to the worst record in the league were all thrown on the table when talking about how the Mavericks would perform this season.

Really, it was a season full of question marks.

When would Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews get back full healthy from major surgeries? Will Dirk Nowitzki finally start to age and not perform at a high level? What exactly is Dallas getting with Deron Williams? After missing out on DeAndre, will Zaza Pachulia be able to vill the void at center? The questions never stopped.

And now we have all the answers.

Wesley Matthews defied the odds and found himself in the starting lineup on opening night. Even though he is on track to miss only four games on the season, he is having his worst season of his career shooting the ball. The highest paid player on the team has averaged just 12.5 points per game.

Chandler Parsons had a much longer recovery than Matthews as he missed the first couple games of the season only to play most of the first half of the season on a minute restriction. After coming off his minute restriction, Parsons had a stretch of about eight weeks where he was playing at an all-star level only to suffer another (consecutive) season ending knee surgery on March 18th, 2016. A complete punch to the gut for the Mavs.

Deron Williams has played much better than people believed he would have but has suffered through his own set of minor injures throughout the year. During this recent playoff push, Williams missed almost 10 games where the Mavs turned to their bench once again for production. He will finish the season missing 18 games total.

Zaza Pachulia came in as an emergency filling to the void at center and did nothing but impress. Pachulia even found himself a near all-star has Mavs fans pushed for their over performing center to be represented in Toronto. But as the season went along, having a rim protector and presence above the rim pays dividends next to Dirk (something Zaza doesn’t provide). Zaza has found himself getting limited minutes as Carlisle rotates the center position.

These are just four examples of question marks that have circled around the Mavs, but Carlisle has made the best of the cards given to him and turned it into a playoff team.

What about the progression that rookies Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri have made throughout the year with the opportunities Carlisle has given them? Or the decision to bring David Lee in and use him in the role that Carlisle has used him? Or maybe the confidence that Carlisle has in J.J. Barea to lead the team in Deron Williams’ absence? Or what about when Dallas had lost 10 out of their last 12 and looked to be spiraling out of the playoffs?

To be frank, this current roster, with the injuries that have taken place, has no place in the playoffs, but Carlisle refused to let this team lose and coached this team to not only the playoffs, but to an above .500 record. He has managed minutes, switched out rotations, and played rookies when he normally doesn’t. He has done it all this season.

Rick Carlisle is a top 2-3 coach in the league and it’s time he starts getting more credit.

Social media responded last night to the Mavs making the playoffs…

Next: Best First Round Matchup for the Mavs

Even though the favorites to win the Coach of the Year award are being headlined by Brad Stevens and Terry Stotts, Rick Carlisle deserves to at least be in the conversation. He hasn’t won the award since 2001-02 in Detroit, it’s time he takes home another award.