Now that we’re a little more than halfway through the 2022/23 season, some contenders have emerged for the NBA’s Coach of the Year award. According to BetOnline.ag, Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla is the betting favorite at +175, followed by Nets coach Jacque Vaughn at +400.
Four other head coaches are tied at +650: Taylor Jenkins of the Grizzlies, Michael Malone of the Nuggets, Mike Brown of the Kings and Willie Green of the Pelicans. The next closest on the list is Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff at +1400, and everyone else is at +2000 or higher.
Last season, Monty Williams won the award after leading the Suns to the best regular season record in the league (64-18, eight wins better than second-place Memphis). Jenkins was the runner-up, followed by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
The Celtics entered the offseason as a title favorite after reaching the Finals last season, but the organization was thrown into disarray when coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the season. Despite Mazzulla being the youngest head coach in the league and only having an interim tag, Boston hasn’t skipped a beat under its new leader, as the team currently has the best record in the NBA at 32-13. He certainly deserves credit for staying even-keeled under tumultuous circumstances.
Similarly, the Nets had a ton of drama in the offseason and started out 2-5 before parting ways with former coach Steve Nash. Vaughn helped right the ship, with Brooklyn going 25-10 since he was promoted. We’ll see how the Nets do without Kevin Durant (they’re 0-2 so far), but clearly the team has taken Vaughn’s messaging to heart.
The Nuggets are the No. 1 seed in the West, and Malone has seamlessly integrated offseason additions Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown. The returns of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have been a little less smooth, which is to be expected after major injuries. Still, it’s hard to argue with their place in the standings.
The Grizzlies have had key players miss significant time, including Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, and they lost two rotation players from last season (Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton) and replaced them with rookies, but they’re still tied with Denver at 30-13. Pretty easy to make a case for Jenkins here.
Green has guided the Pelicans to a 26-18 record, the No. 3 seed in the West, despite missing star Brandon Ingram for most of the season. Zion Williamson is now sidelined as well, yet New Orleans keeps grinding out victories with its impressive depth.
The Kings are the West’s No. 5 seed at 24-18 in Brown’s first season at the helm, and could break their 16-year playoff drought, which is an NBA record. The turnaround has been impressive, as Sacramento went just 30-52 last season.
Who do you think will win the Coach of the Year award? Will Mazzulla keep the Celtics at the top of the standings and win as an interim coach? Head to the comments and let us know what you think.
I’d give it to Will Hardy, as of now.
It’s a toss-up right now. We’ll have to see how the teams settle in the second half. If I had to pick, I would give it to Willie Green.
My vote goes to Mazzula bc 1 ) best team in the NBA, 2) the Ime Udoka stuff was difficult to deal with, and 3) he just seems very comfortable in the position (which is probably not an element of the award, but its still impressive to see him coach at this level).
Coach of the Year because of the league’s best record, or because of the circumstances?
Or both?
Even tho I think they’re talent is basically “plug and play” (any competent coach could do well with this team – hell, Udoka did it part time), I do think Mazzula is deserving.
Followed by Mike Brown, assuming his team stays competitive and gets in the playoffs.
The Pels won’t be anywhere near the top of the west by the end of the season.
Who’s going catch them? The Clippers? The Kings? The Mavs maybe, but top 4 is still near the top of the conference. To be where they’re at with Ingram 25+ games and Zion in and out of the lineup is pretty amazing.
Vaughn would be my choice if BKN stays a top 3 team in the East. This team was left for dead, and some are discounting them again with KD out again. Mike Brown and Willie Green would be 2-3.
BOS is where they figured to be. DEN and MEM as well. I like Malone as a HC, and Jenkins too, and believe both have been facilitators in getting their teams to where they were coming into the year. But I can’t isolate this year’s impact as special.
It’ll go to Mazzulla, but Malone would get my vote if I had one.
We aren’t even half way through the season so this is a silly conversation to be having.
But if the award was given out tomorrow I’d say Mike Brown.
If Vaughan has the nets finish top 3 in the ready surely he wins it.
Mazzulla has done what’s expected. His team just went to the finals and is everyone favourite right now with Tatum playing like the MVP.
Jenkins hasn’t done much more than he did last season. Malone’s nuggets are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and yes he added KCP and Brown. This is a good team which got two good additions of course they are better.
But look at Vaughan, took over from Nash who started the year 2-5. KD requested a trade in the offseason, Kyrie still had question marks about availability, Ben Simmons was returning. He’s turned all the drama around and has them in the headline for the right reasons which is winning basketball games.
I think Indy coach, Ruck Carlise deserves a mention too. Indy are suppose to be tanking to VW but he has them playing great. Tyrese is leading the league in assists, Turner is having a career year, Benedict Mathurin is highly ranked as both rookie of the year and sixth man of the year. Think he should be in the discussion for sure.
I’d have it
1. Vaughan
2. Malone
3. Mazzulla
4. Green
5. Carlise
Like most years, more than a few deserving COTY candidates ……. Jenkins, Malone, Green, Mazzula & Hardy.
KD’s out, the NETS are reeling again ……. Vaughn is the better coach than Nash, but Vaughn had the benefit of having players being available and the lack of all the drama brought about by both KD & Kyrie.