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Coach of the Year
Prediction: Brad Stevens - Boston Celtics
Why will he win?
There are a lot of people who will argue that Brad Stevens is the best coach in the league right now. He was able to coach his team, who were missing two All-Stars, to the conference finals. If you ask him about his success, he will give most of the credit to his players. To an extent, this is true, but there is no denying that Stevens' work in Boston has helped the organization tremendously.
His defensive schemes, ball movement, and ability to get players to achieve their full potential when they play are all reasons why the Celtics are deep and successful. With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning, the team is destined to make a deep playoff run and could potentially challenge Golden State in the finals. He's a great coach and has proven why he is considered one of the best in basketball.
Why he won't win?
People may say the Celtics' success for this coming season will be because of their talent and young players. Consequently, Brad Stevens may not get the credit he deserves. He got a lot of recognition this past playoffs because his team was missing two All-Stars. If everyone is healthy, he may not be in the spotlight anymore.
Other candidates
Quin Snyder - Utah Jazz
Why will he win?
If you sort the coaches by tiers, you would have Gregg Popovich and Brad Stevens in the first tier. The next tier would feature coaches such as Quin Snyder. Snyder was able to completely surpass expectations last season by helping his team to the second round of the playoffs. A lot of this is because of future star and steal of the draft, Donovan Mitchell, and the extraordinary defence of Rudy Gobert. Quin Snyder has been an excellent coach and ensured the talent on his team was properly utilized to finish the season strong.
Why he won't win?
Being in Utah won't give him the publicity he deserves which is unfair but is sadly needed for these types of awards. The Western Conference is also tougher this year, which means there is the chance the Jazz struggle to keep up. It's up to Quin to once again surpass expectations and continue his success on the Jazz sideline.
Mike Budenholzer - Milwaukee Bucks
Why will he win?
Budenholzer has proven to be a very successful coach during his time with the Hawks and has recently been brought in to coach the Bucks. The Bucks have talent on their roster with Antetokounmpo, Brogdon, Bledsoe, and Middleton. They need a quality coach to help push them over the state of being a borderline playoff team. Budenholzer is successful, proven, and will have the necessary talent to push the Bucks further than they have gone in recent memory.
Why he won't win?
The Bucks are still outside the top 3 teams in the East behind Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto. If Budenholzer isn't able to be in the top 3 in the conference, it is very unlikely he will win the award. He will need to push the Bucks past expectations and give Giannis the opportunity to play at an MVP level in order to be a candidate for the award. It is his first stint in Milwaukee, we can't predict yet how he will change the culture of the team.
Guess the Lakers players!
