Will the real COY please stand up ?
Mike Brown better hand over that COY award, cause Stan van Gundy just whooped his ass. Stan van Gundy went in just a short time from a Ron Jeremy look-alike who resigned as coach of the team that went on to win the title, a Master of Disaster who was questioned by his superstar and one step away from being eliminated by a depleted Boston team to the guy who took his team to the finals and wiped the floor with the reigning COY in the process.
Although, to be fair, I don’t think Stan van Gundy deserves as much credit for Magic’s win as Mike Brown deserves criticism. Mike Brown had the reaction of a deer in the headlights: he froze. The problem is not that his adjustments against the Magic did not work. The problem is that he made no adjustments. He went with what worked during the season and against the Pistons and Hawks and waited for it to work against the Magic. That despite the fact that it didn’t work against the Magic during the season, and it didn’t work against them during the playoffs.
Mike Brown just kept waiting for his system to work. And it didn’t. He waited for his players to make their shots. They didn’t. But he’s the coach for a reason. When they can’t make their shots, he has to get them easier shots. When they can’t defend, he needs to change his defense. When they can’t score in the half-court, maybe he should try to play faster and go small. He did none of those things.
As a result the real coach of the year got to the finals, while the best player in the world will have to watch them from home.