Rick Carlisle Finishes 12th in Coach of the Year Voting

The Coach of the Year award voting came out a few days ago and Dallas Mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle came in 12th place.

Most years, the season rolls around and the COY of the year award is usually up to a couple of candidates every year; Greg Popovich, the coach who finishes in first place in the East and a coach that is coaching an over performing team. This pretty much sums up the award every year around this time.

This year, it has somewhat of a different vibe as there were numerous coaches that deserved votes for the award.

In the West, Popovich is a mainstay for the award as he is the best coach in the league. Terry Stotts took a Portland team that lost four starters from last year and finished 5th in the West. Dave Joerger in Memphis lost Marc Gasol early in year and then lost Mike Conley for the season later in the year, but still finished 7th in the West. Then you have Rick Carlisle, who took a Mavs team that was already counted out before the season and then lost arguably their best player in Chandler Parsons earlier in the year; while managing to finish 6th in the West.

Then there is the situation with the Golden State Warriors where Luke Walton started the season and Steve Kerr ended the season, both resulting in the greatest regular season team in NBA history as they won a record 73 games.

The East was headlined by Steve Clifford in Charlotte as he took a Hornets team and took the next step for the franchise. Dwane Casey led a Toronto team to the second seed in the East and possibly the coaching stud rising the fastest in the ranks, Brad Stevens, did a remarkable job in leading an average Boston team to the 5th seed in the East.

With all of that being said, you can make a very strong case for Rick Carlisle to finish at least in the top five of voting for the award, maybe even higher.

Before the season and before all of the injuries, Dallas was predicted to finish with one of the worst records in the league after the DeAndre Jordan drama over the summer. Long story short, Dallas finished the season as the 6th seed in the West and won a game in Oklahoma City with players literally limping around the court.

The Mavs highest paid player, Wesley Matthews, had his worst season of his career coming off a torn achilles last spring. Chandler Parsons didn’t have his minute restrictions lifted until around Christmas only to find his season being over to a knee injury two months later. Deron Williams was the starting point guard and missed almost 20 games on the season, most notably the end of season run to make the playoffs. Carlisle managed Dirk Nowitzki‘s minutes perfectly and helped Raymond Felton have maybe the best season of his career. We saw rotations change throughout the year and a complete style change for the whole team as the team suffered through injuries.

Then the results came out for the award…

First off, I completely understand the first three names on the list. Terry Stotts was my personal vote for the award, but giving the award to Steve Kerr completely makes since as they broke the record for the most wins in a season. My issues start after the top 3 on this list.

As I stated above, I understand the cases being made for Casey, Clifford, Stevens, and Joerger, I just disagree they deserve more votes than what Carlisle received. Casey coming in 5th kind of baffles me the most, but who am I to judge? But what about the four names above Carlisle?

DOC RIVERS? What? I understand they lost Blake Griffin to his injuries and fight club for most of the season, but how can Rivers be considered for any positive coaching award? Luke Walton did a great job to start the season with a completely healthy and rested Warriors team coming off winning a title with the MVP of the league…you get my point. Erik Spoelstra did do a good job with a Miami team who has lost Chris Bosh once again, but Miami still possesses a roster that can compete with the best in the East with a combination of veterans and rising young players. Quin Snyder is a heck of a coach, but he did miss the playoffs with a team full of talented young players after many predicted them to be playing in late April.

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I’m not saying that Carlisle should have won the award, I just believe he should have gotten WAY more recognition than what he did…much more than 12th at least.