2008 Woodie Awards
Who Will Be The NBA's Coach Of The Year?
POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Marc Gauthier and Jake Goldberg
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Sports
New Orleans' Byron Scott
This season, Byron Scott has coached the New Orleans Hornets to a 56-26 record, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference play-offs and the Hornets' first conference championship in the team's 20-year history.
His experience and skill as a player with three championship rings under the Lakers in the 1980s is evident in the players he has coached this season.
Scott is most deserving of the Coach of the Year award.
Contact Marc Gauthier at Marc.Gauthier@UConn.edu.
Houston's Rick Adelman
You look at the Houston Rockets roster and you can see there isn't much to work with.
However Rick Adelman has guided a Yao-less Rockets' team to an unbelievable 55-27 record in the hardest division in basketball, which is inside, arguably, the hardest conference the league has ever seen.
With that being said, a coach that can get these athletes to win 22 consecutive games is without a doubt, the coach of the year.
Contact Jake Goldberg at Jacob.Goldberg@UConn.edu.
Marc Gauthier: Byron Scott is the top candidate for Coach of the Year. His coaching skills have brought the New Orleans Hornets atop the leader boards in not only the Western Conference but in the entire NBA.
Jake Goldberg: Rick Adelman has Dikembe Mutombo starting for him at center, and the Rockets still have a winning record. They won 22 straight at one point this season, the second longest winning streak ever, and part of it came without their best player, Yao Ming. Now that's a Coach of the Year.
Marc: The 22 wins in a row is a fairly impressive stat, but Scott coached a team who didn't lose more than three games in a row. The Rockets have had a three-game losing streak as well as a six-game losing streak.
Jake: The Rockets also boast players like Chuck Hayes, Mike Harris, Dikembe Mutombo and Carl Landry. All play significant minutes and contribute. This is because the system Adelman has in place - a defensively sound system that has made this roster play great. Bryon has Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler
This season, Byron Scott has coached the New Orleans Hornets to a 56-26 record, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference play-offs and the Hornets' first conference championship in the team's 20-year history.
His experience and skill as a player with three championship rings under the Lakers in the 1980s is evident in the players he has coached this season.
Scott is most deserving of the Coach of the Year award.
Contact Marc Gauthier at Marc.Gauthier@UConn.edu.
Houston's Rick Adelman
You look at the Houston Rockets roster and you can see there isn't much to work with.
However Rick Adelman has guided a Yao-less Rockets' team to an unbelievable 55-27 record in the hardest division in basketball, which is inside, arguably, the hardest conference the league has ever seen.
With that being said, a coach that can get these athletes to win 22 consecutive games is without a doubt, the coach of the year.
Contact Jake Goldberg at Jacob.Goldberg@UConn.edu.
Marc Gauthier: Byron Scott is the top candidate for Coach of the Year. His coaching skills have brought the New Orleans Hornets atop the leader boards in not only the Western Conference but in the entire NBA.
Jake Goldberg: Rick Adelman has Dikembe Mutombo starting for him at center, and the Rockets still have a winning record. They won 22 straight at one point this season, the second longest winning streak ever, and part of it came without their best player, Yao Ming. Now that's a Coach of the Year.
Marc: The 22 wins in a row is a fairly impressive stat, but Scott coached a team who didn't lose more than three games in a row. The Rockets have had a three-game losing streak as well as a six-game losing streak.
Jake: The Rockets also boast players like Chuck Hayes, Mike Harris, Dikembe Mutombo and Carl Landry. All play significant minutes and contribute. This is because the system Adelman has in place - a defensively sound system that has made this roster play great. Bryon has Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler
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