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Doc Rivers Case for Coach of the Year

By Ryan Snellings

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 17: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers urges on his players in the first half during the NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center on March 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers defeated the Nets 119-116. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 17: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers urges on his players in the first half during the NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center on March 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers defeated the Nets 119-116. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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The LA Clippers may not have the best record in the NBA or even the Western Conference, but Doc Rivers has made himself a case for Coach of the Year.

The LA Clippers are locked into a playoff spot. This is the same Clippers team that was predicted to win only 33 games prior to the start of the year. This is the same Clippers team that was assumed would tank after trading Tobias Harris near the trade deadline. Through all the assumptions, Doc Rivers has kept this team focused on making the playoffs and fighting to prove themselves.

And you know what? He deserves to be Coach of the Year for it.

The team came firing out the gates, starting off the year 15-6, which unsurprisingly, led to Doc receiving his first Coach of the Month Award of the season. It shouldn’t be his last though.

Since the All-Star break, LA has been a league best 17-5, including an incredible 13-2 March. It was the kind of month that will likely give Doc his second Coach of the Month Award.

Did I mention he had this run after trading arguably the team’s best player and got back a few rotational guys and a rookie and 21 year old center, both of which had to be inserted into the starting lineup?

It’s worth noting.

Doc needs this second Coach of the Month Award to help bolster his resume. One of his competitors for Coach of the Year, Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks, has already gotten two of the monthly awards. His Bucks also sport the best record in the league.

Doc’s other competition comes from Mike Malone, head coach of the Denver Nuggets, who has his team currently neck and neck for first place in the West with the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Both coaches are more than deserving. Budenholzer put an offense into place for the Bucks that maximizes Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s abilities and Mike Malone has made his team work around a traditional center, not something that is too common in today’s NBA.

That’s just it though. Both coaches have All-Star caliber players while Doc does not. (At least, according to the league, but that’s a whole other different story…)

The Bucks and the Nuggets were expected to be where they are. Their coaches did what was expected of them. Doc didn’t. He took this Clippers team and made them just the fourth team ever to win more than 45 games with no past or present All-Star on the roster. It wasn’t that long ago that he was supposedly on the hot seat. Hell, he didn’t even know for sure if he would come back. But, he just kept coaching.

It’s something that is very, very, rarely talked about, when NBA TV and ESPN aren’t worried out about the latest Lakers drama or who should win the Rookie of the Year.

Players have noticed though. Take Kyrie Irving after the Clippers beat his Celtics team.

Steve Ballmer noticed. It’s why he and Doc agreed to an extension this summer after being unsure what the future would hold.

We noticed. Doc not only won his 300th game with more than one franchise, something only six other coaches have done in league history, but still kept the ship steady after nothing but roster turnover the past two years.

The Incredible March of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. dark. Next

Now, it’s time for the league to notice. Doc Rivers not only should get some Coach of the Year attention, he should be the favorite.

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