I don't know if you saw this yesterday, but Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was named the NBA's Coach of the Year. It's the second time Thibs has won the award, with the first coming when he was with the Chicago Bulls.
But was Thibs the most deserving?
I couldn't help but notice when looking at the final balloting that Thibs was the only one of the seven coaches who received votes whose team did not reach the second round of the NBA Playoffs. I get it's a regular-season award, but I'm thinking maybe Thibs -- who narrowly edged out Phoenix's Monty Williams -- won the award because of where he coaches.
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You see, in Williams' first season with the Suns, the team went 34-39. This year the team improved to 51-21, an improvement of 17 wins, finishing second in the much more difficult Western Conference. The result is the Suns reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Thibs took over a Knicks team that went 21-45 last year and improved it to 41-31, a 20-win improvement, but in the easier conference. The result is the Knicks reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Now, had Thibs done this same thing with, oh, I don't know, the Minnesota Timberwolves, would he have won the Coach of the Year?
Well, in the 2017-18 season, Thibs' Minnesota team improved from 31-51 to 47-35, a 16-win improvement. That team made the playoffs for the first time since 2004, ending a 15-year drought. Do you know how many Coach of the Year votes he received that season? None.
It's not just about what you do, but where you do it.
OK, let's make some money.
All times Eastern, and all odds via William Hill Sportsbook
