'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwf/2gAIAQEAAAAAkaf/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAECEAAAAH//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAfEAABBAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMEBQYRABITISL/2gAIAQEAAT8AwWrrbrKokEyNthrt5TZVewNpsyX6T3zIMdqY99ZMwu4RW5LoNCrhroEJdc//xAAXEQEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAIR/9oACAECAQE/AKGs/8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECEf/aAAgBAwEBPwCqxH//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Coach of the Year - Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
Gregg Popovich is a perennial contender for this award. Come-what-may, he seems to find a way to get his San Antonio Spurs clicking and winning. But as mentioned earlier, these awards are so much to do with storylines and right now Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics runs away with it.
The Celtics suffered a huge dent in their championship hopes on opening night when Gordon Hayward was lost for the season. But all Stevens and the C's needed was one more night to re-group and they were fine. Boston just dropped the next game but since then they've gone 34-9 by relying on their depth and young wings. Not to mention, their star offseason acquisition - Kyrie Irving but at the end of the day, the players only execute what the coaching plans for them.
And Stevens has done a marvelous job of doing that.
Apart from Pop, Dwane Casey, coach of the Raptors, is also a possible candidate but that's all that he is - a candidate. At the end of the day, Casey had all of the current talents even last year. All he did was introduce a new system (which is no walk in the park) to the team but to do that when you are missing an All-Star is what swings the pendulum towards Stevens.
