I am pretty terrible at this blogging thing. I promise you all part 2 to a series the next day and it takes me a week. My sincerest apologies to all of you, but I will no longer have philosophy papers to worry about so I can get back to informing the masses about the NBA.
But back to the business at hand. We last left off our countdown of the NBA's top coaches at No. 15 Michael Curry. Curry has shown he can guide a talented Detroit team to the top end of the Eastern Conference, but now we get into the really talented coaches.
14. Mike Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers)
When you have LeBron James on your roster there is not a whole lot of coaching that has to be done. I will give Brown plenty of credit for being able to get the 11 guys not named LeBron to sacrifice their NBA careers and be willing to sacrifice their stats for the W's.
13. Scott Skiles (Milwaukee Bucks)
Call it bias but I think he is a great coach. He took the worst defensive team last year and has them in the top-10 in the league. He took a slightly better than average Chicago Bulls team and led them to 48 wins. I would like to see him put more faith in younger players, but he is solid.
12. Doc Rivers (Boston Celtics)
This may seem a little low for a coach who just won a ring, but Rivers never had much success until he had three superstars on his team. He is great at managing minutes between his starters and bench, which keeps his teams rested and ready for playoffs. His game coaching is minimal.
11. Larry Brown (Charlotte Bobcats)
Larry Brown is like your hot high school teacher. He is good at teaching and coaching and fun to be around, but then relationships get weird. Either Brown or one of his players cross some line and then everything just turns into one big, strange situation.
10. Byron Scott (New Orleans Hornets)
Scott built a powerful team in New Jersey with the three-man wrecking crew strategy. He landed Chris Paul in New Orleans and is closer to getting another three-man crew in place with David West and Rasaul Butler. He has a vision and he carries it out.
9. Mike Woodson (Atlanta Hawks)
If you like your basketball fast, exciting, emotional and tenacious then watch the Hawks. Woodson took a group of talented athletes and made them one of the most feared and prepared teams in the league. The Hawks are everything basketball should be, even when they lose.
8. George Karl (Denver Nuggets)
How could he not be top-10? He took my Milwaukee Bucks to the Eastern Conference Championship. But Karl is also one of the best in-game strategists. He is able to make changes on the fly which keeps his teams in games until the very end.
7. Don Nelson (Golden State Warriors)
Don "Who needs defense when you can score 130 points a game" Nelson loves to watch his team put the ball in the hoop and then act surprised when they don't play defense. It's always fun to watch Nelson act crazy after a defensive mishap. Still, 1,285 wins is impressive.
6. Rick Adelman (Houston Rockets)
Two words and a number sum him up. Sacramento Kings 2002. That was one of the most fun teams to watch play in NBA history. I have never seen such unselfish offense and such a flashy way of doing it. For that team, I will always be grateful to Mr. Adelman.
5. Stan Van Gundy (Orlando Magic)
He looks like Ron Jeremy, which is hilarious, he wins 61 percent of his games, which is awesome. And he built an NBA Championship team and all in just 5 years. A second championship may be right around the corner with the Magic. The man can coach, period.
4. Mike D' Antoni
So remember Don Nelson and how he can get teams score? Well take that same offensive power and add solid defense and you get the Italian Stallion Mike D' Antoni. He has the Knicks at 10-12. The Knicks! His greatness can no longer be questioned.
3. Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Phil "Goldfinger" Jackson is the best coach ever at managing superstar egos. His contribution to basketball will always be the Triangle Offense, but his ability to put superstars under some sort of trance is what got him 1,237 championships. He tamed MJ, Pippen, Kobe and Shaq.
2. Jerry Sloan (Utah Jazz)
So he never beat Jackson when it mattered, but he built his teams. He has had talented rosters in the past, but nothing to the extent of Jackson. He knows how to take his philosophy, which is play awesome basketball or leave, and gets it to work no matter what roster he has.
1. Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs)
One decade...four championships...all with the same team. He is the best coach in the league because when he has George Hill on the court he still wins. When he has three superstars on the court he still wins. He also developed Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili into stars. Greatest.
Well I hope you enjoyed my extended two-part series. The list is completely factual and undisputable, so if anyone asks you who is the 12th best coach in the league you now know.
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