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The NBA season has officially come to an end. On Thursday, the Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors 114-110. Their win led to the Raptors winning their first championship in franchise history. With the season coming to an end, it is time for the offseason festivities.
One of the events that take place in the offseason is the NBA Awards. The NBA Awards is an annual event that the league holds to recognize their elite. The awards show gives out the awards to the best rookie, sixth man, and player of the regular season. The show also gives the award for the best coach of the season.
The Coach of the Year candidates are Clippers coach Doc Rivers, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, and Nuggets coach Michael Malone. Each of these candidates deserves Coach of the Year, but one candidate has an advantage over the others. Michael Malone and the Nuggets had a great season and deserve to be recognized. Malone is a legitimate candidate and deserves to win the award. Here are some of the reasons why he deserves the award.
#3 The Nuggets were the second seed in a wild Western Conference
The Denver Nuggets had an incredible season that shattered expectations. They finished the season with a 54-28 record. The Nuggets were the second seed of the Western Conference and were only three games behind the first seed Warriors. Their performance is an improvement from their last two seasons, where they barely missed the playoffs.
In the 2017-18 season, the Nuggets finished the season with a record of 46-36. In 2016-17, they had a record of 40-42. The Nuggets were the ninth seed of the West and just missed the playoffs last time around. This year, they made significant strides and jumped up seven seeds to become the second best team of the West.
This season, the Nuggets made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. They reached the second round, where they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers. Denver lost the series 4-3. In a series where the Blazers and Nuggets battled in quadruple overtime in Game 3, the Nuggets came up short in an exciting series. Their loss in the second round came after the Nuggets beat the Spurs in the first round. They beat the Spurs in a 4-3 series.
Despite their loss in the second round, the Nuggets proved they are the team of the future. With a young core consisting of players such as Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets are a playoff team for years to come. They also have the ideal coach in Mike Malone. The combination of Malone and the young Nuggets is a step in the right direction for Denver. If the Nuggets hold on to Malone, the team will likely continue to improve. Then, it is only a matter of time before they become contenders.
#2 The Nuggets improved on the defensive end
The Nuggets are an impressive offensive team, but they also improved on the defensive end. In the regular season, Denver ranked 10th in team defense. They had a defensive ranking of 108. Their defensive ranking this year was an improvement from last year when they were 23rd in the league. Like their playoff seeding, this is a significant jump from their previous season. Their improvement came from things such as communicating more on the defensive end and giving an overall better effort.
Denver also had one of the worst teams in terms of defending the 3-point line last season. This year, they reached the top 10 teams in terms of perimeter defense. They ranked eighth towards the end of the season. Denver also ranked first in opponent fastbreak points with 9.1 points per game. They managed to stop opposing teams from scoring on fastbreaks. With Denver's speed, this comes as no surprise.
The Nuggets also made strides in other areas. They ranked 13th in steals with 7.7 steals per game and fifth in opponents' second-chance points with 12.1 They also had the best fourth-quarter defensive rating of 101.9. In this case, their opponents only scored roughly 25 points in the fourth quarter. Their fourth quarter ranking helped them close out games and beat their opponents in the clutch. While the Nuggets need to improve slightly in defensive rebounds (they ranked 17th with 34.5 rebounds per game), their defense progressed.
Their progress came as a surprise, but Malone worked hard to make a legitimate defensive team. He stressed the importance of defense and helped a skilled offensive team develop. If the Nuggets keep up their defensive efforts next season, it will make their team even better.
# 1 Malone coached his team through injuries
The Nuggets were the second seed of the West but not without a fight. They dealt with injuries throughout the season, yet managed to remain at the top of the conference.
This season, the Nuggets lost players such as Paul Millsap and Gary Harris to injuries. In December, Millsap suffered a broken toe and missed 8 games. Millsap played 14 games in the playoffs and averaged 14.6 points. The veteran forward helped the Nuggets succeed in the playoffs.
Harris suffered a hip injury around the same time as Millsap. He missed four weeks before returning in January. Then, Harris missed five games that month due to hamstring tightness. Harris also missed more time with a right adductor strain. He played 57 games in the regular season but played 14 in the playoffs. He averaged 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds. Harris had a rough regular season but made up for when it was necessary.
Another player that missed time was Will Barton. Barton injured his right hip in the second game of the season. The Nuggets ruled him out for six weeks after he underwent surgery on October 23. However, he missed more time and returned in January. He missed a total of 38 games and played a total of 43. He played in the playoffs but failed to find a rhythm. He averaged only 9.1 points in the postseason.
The Nuggets had their hands full when it came to injuries. They were the second most injured team in the league with players cumulatively missing over 270 games due to injury. The only team with more injuries than the Nuggets was the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose players missed nearly 280 games cumulatively.
Denver lost three of their key players but received contributions from bench players such as Malik Beasley and Monte Morris. Malone led his core and bench players through the season.
Malone and the Nuggets accomplished a lot this season. They fought through injuries but became a better team. With all of this in mind, Malone should win Coach of the Year award.
