NBA Playoffs 2011: Ranking All 16 Coaches
The 2010-11 NBA season could go down as one of the most competitive seasons in NBA history.
Nine teams have surpassed the 50-win plateau this season, which speaks to the parity, competitiveness and depth of the entire league.
With so many teams putting together solid seasons, the 2011 NBA Playoffs are sure to produce some of the most competitive and hard fought series we’ve ever encountered.
The NBA season concluded last night with all 30 teams playing. The playoff series are set.
As the playoffs unfold, the outcomes will not only be determined by the players on the court but also by the suits on the sideline.
We all know that in each playoff series and each game within the series, adjustments are always a key to the success of each team.
That said, this year, with such evenly matched competition, the gameplans produced and adjustments made by the coaches will be paramount in advancing their teams to the next round.
Of the 16 coaches heading up this year’s playoff teams, five are making their playoff debuts and four of those five are first-year head coaches.
There's another five that have guided teams to the NBA finals in the past, with three of those five having claimed NBA titles.
Two others have guided teams to their respective conference finals but failed to make it to the big show.
Finally, a few others have been to the playoffs before but have yet to advance past the first round.
With such contrast in the levels of playoff coaching experience and success coupled with the competitiveness of the league as a whole, we are in store for a tremendous postseason.
The list I have formulated is solely based upon the coaches—not the teams.
I will however list a "SHOT" or "NO SHOT", indicating each team's title hopes this season.
Let’s take a look at how each head coach stacks up against one another in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
No. 16: Frank Vogel
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Frank Vogel - Indiana Pacers
This Season: 20-18
Overall Record: 20-18 (one season, one playoff appearance)
Playoff Record: None
Vogel gets the No. 16 spot on the list because he has the least experience of any of the playoff coaches.
Having only assumed his first head coaching position at the midway point of this season, Vogel has been a head coach in the NBA for only 38 games in his career.
Since taking over the 17-27 Indiana Pacers, Vogel has delivered a 20-18 record and secured the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Vogel is to be commended for his team’s improvement and should be a cornerstone as the Pacers look to improve upon this season’s achievements in the future.
Since taking over the Pacers, Vogel has quietly improved his team’s defense, hustle and rebounding, and he's helped implement a more consistent and balanced team offensively.
Particularly, the play of Tyler Hansbrough has improved markedly under Vogel’s guidance.
Unfortunately for Vogel and the Pacers, their efforts have earned them a date with the NBA’s best team—the Chicago Bulls.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 15: Larry Drew
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Larry Drew – Atlanta Hawks
This Season: 44-38
Overall Record: 44-38 (one season, one playoff appearance)
Playoff Record: None
Drew is one of those first year coaches who has guided his team to the playoffs.
Drew, a long time NBA assistant and 10-year NBA player, has all the experience and time served to be an excellent NBA coach.
Unfortunately, a good résumé and accolades as a player and assistant coach don’t win games in the NBA.
Although this year’s Hawks team is in the playoffs again, it is unclear from the up-and-down and inconsistent season if they are ready to be anything but another first round-victim.
The Hawks were desperately in need of a coach that could instill a work ethic and discipline into an underachieving team.
Drew seemed to be that man. This year’s playoff performance could be a strong measuring stick to see if Drew is that man.
Drew and the Hawks are very capable of beating the big boys on any given night, but with heightened atmosphere in the playoffs, it will be up to this first-year coach to weather the peaks and valleys of an NBA playoff series.
Having beaten their first round opponent—the Orlando Magic—three of four times in the regular season, the Hawks should have confidence as they enter the playoffs.
The question still remains—can Drew get his players to fight through adversity when things go wrong?
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 14: Lionel Hollins
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Lionel Hollins – Memphis Grizzlies
This Season: 46-36
Overall Record: 117-150 (five seasons, one winning season, one playoff appearance)
Playoff Record: None
After being the sixth overall pick in the 1975 NBA Draft, collecting an NBA Championship in 1977 and being named an All-Star and All-NBA Defensive team during his playing career, many may have figured Hollins had achieved everything he wanted to in basketball.
However, after three different stints and five seasons as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, Hollins has finally notched another achievement on his basketball resume—his first NBA playoff appearance as a head coach.
Hollins and the Grizzlies have put together a very successful season and are one of the more underrated and under-the-radar teams in this year’s playoff field.
Particularly tough at home, compiling a 30-11 record, good for a tie for the fifth best home record in the NBA, the Grizzlies could spell trouble for the San Antonio Spurs in the first round if they can steal a road win.
Hollins has gotten the most out of an unheralded roster and built a nice mix of solid veterans like Shane Battier, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, in addition to young talent like Rudy Gay, Darrell Arthur and OJ Mayo.
This Grizzlies will be a tough out for the Spurs in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 13: Monty Williams
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Monty Williams – New Orleans Hornets
This Season: 46-36
Overall Record: 46-36 (one season, one playoff appearance)
Playoff Record: None
Another of the first-year head coaches to guide their clubs to the NBA Playoffs, Williams has done it with defense this season.
The New Orleans Hornets boast the league’s third overall defense in terms of points allowed (first in the West).
The team-wide commitment to defense Williams has instilled makes this team a potential upset specialist in the first round.
Williams' commitment to defense, coupled with the uniting of a once-fractured roster, has the Hornets positioned well for years to come.
Assuming the Hornets can keep Chris Paul together with David West and Emeka Okafor, this team could be a rising power in the Western Conference.
The ability to both defend the perimeter and the paint effectively will allow the Hornets to be competitive in every playoff game.
What Williams will need to do is maintain the defensive intensity his team has displayed throughout the regular season and find ways to illustrate an offensive game plan that will allow the Hornets to accentuate their strengths.
This will include finding ways to free Paul for open shots and getting the ball to West in positions to score.
If Williams and the Hornets can figure out how to score consistently, especially late in close games, they can push the Lakers to six or seven games in the first round.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 12: Doug Collins
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Doug Collins – Philadelphia 76ers
This Season: 41-41
Overall Record: 373-328 (nine seasons, five winning seasons, six playoff appearances, four teams)
Playoff Record: 15-23 (three playoff series wins, last appearance prior to this year: 1997)
Collins has guided his teams to six playoff appearances in nine seasons as an NBA head coach.
Probably better known for his award-winning work as a broadcaster than as a head coach, Collins has been a steady performer as an NBA front man.
Collins has eclipsed the 50-win mark twice as a head coach and led one team to a conference finals appearance.
However, Collins' teams have been known to make some untimely exits in past playoff appearances as well.
Additionally, Collins has not coached a playoff game since the first round of the 1997 playoffs. That season, Collins' 54-win Detroit Piston team was bounced in the first round.
This season, Collins has done one of his finest jobs as a head coach, as he was able to hold this group together after a disastrous 3-13 start to rebound and go 38-28 to finish the season.
An interesting first-round matchup with the Miami Heat awaits Collins and the 76ers as they enter the playoffs.
Collins will bring his playoff experience, which spans over three decades, against young Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat.
It remains to be seen if Collins' experience can help his young team climb the mountain that is the "Big Three" in the first round.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 11: Nate McMillan
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Nate McMillan – Portland Trail Blazers
This Season: 48-34
Overall Record: 458-429 (11 seasons, seven winning seasons, five playoff appearances, two teams)
Playoff Record: 12-16 (one playoff series wins, last appearance prior to this year: 2010)
In 11 seasons as an NBA head coach, McMillan has guided his clubs to seven winning seasons and five playoff appearances.
McMillan brings energy and enthusiasm to the floor every night. His players feed off the energy he provides them.
McMillan consistently has his teams in the Top 10 in defense year in and year out. This year is no exception, with his Blazers boasting the fifth overall defense in terms of points allowed.
A testament to McMillan’s resolve has been his ability to continue to push forward even in the face of devastating injuries.
Brandon Roy and Greg Oden, two players that this franchise was hoping to use as a foundation for their championship building efforts, have been greatly or completely reduced in their capacity to perform.
All McMillan has done in the face of this adversity is guide his team to the doorstep of 50 wins and created one of the toughest environments to come into and play.
The Blazers fiercely defend their home court. This season, Portland has a home record of 30-11 which is good for a tie for the fifth best home record in the NBA.
If McMillan can find a way to squeak out a road win in the first round, he may just pull an upset and advance his team.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 10: Erik Spoelstra
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Erik Spoelstra – Miami Heat
This Season: 58-24
Overall Record: 148-98 (three seasons, three winning seasons, three playoff appearances, one team)
Playoff Record: 4-8 (No playoff series wins, last appearance prior to this year: 2010)
Although sitting on the hot seat in Miami, third-year head coach Spoelstra has been able to quiet the critics and gain respect from his star-studded roster, while leading this Heat team to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The knock against Spoelstra for much of the year was that it seemed as though his players—namely Lebron James—did not give him much respect.
But as the season wore on, the superstar trio of James, Wade and Bosh all began to drink the Kool-Aid that Spoelstra was serving, and the Heat have put together a fine season.
This year’s Heat team has the league’s fifth highest scoring offense and the sixth best defense in terms of points allowed.
Additionally, the Heat are tied for the league’s best road record.
It seems strange to say with two legitimate MVP candidates, but Spoelstra and this Heat team could surprise people in the playoffs and win the NBA title this season.
Title chances: SHOT
No. 9: Scott Brooks
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Scott Brooks – Oklahoma City Thunder
This Season: 55-27
Overall Record: 127-105 (three seasons, two winning seasons, two playoff appearances, one team)
Playoff Record: 2-4 (No playoff series wins, last appearance prior to this year: 2010)
Brooks oversees one of the NBA’s brightest young teams in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Each season under Brooks, the Thunder have improved their record, and this year with the key mid-season pick up of Kendrick Perkins, they could be poised to make a deep playoff run.
If there has been a chink in Brooks' armor, it has been his inability to get his teams to dig in and play playoff-level defense.
I think the addition of Perkins will give Brooks a player’s voice to add to his own to help convince the young run-and-gun-minded Thunder that if they want to make a deep run, they will need to play tough, physical defense.
Brooks always has his teams ready to play, as evidenced by last year’s first-round series against the world-champion Los Angeles Lakers.
In that series, the Lakers had to scratch, claw and hold on to each victory, claiming a series win after six tough, hard-fought games.
The lessons learned during last year’s playoffs will pay dividends this time around. If you are looking for a dark horse to win the title, I’d put my money on the Thunder.
Brooks will get his guys playing fundamentally sound, tough-minded defense to go along with the outstanding scoring capabilities of his offense led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Title chances: SHOT
No. 8: Mike D'Antoni
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Mike D’Antoni – New York Knicks
This Season: 42-40
Overall Record: 370-315 (nine seasons, five winning seasons, five playoff appearances, two teams, NBA Coach of the Year 2004-05)
Playoff Record: 26-25 (five playoff series wins, last appearance prior to this year: 2008)
Now we are starting to get into the meat of this year’s coaching field. Seven of the final eight coaches on this list have extensive playoff résumés.
D’Antoni is one of them, having coached 51 playoff games.
D’Antoni has also been an NBA Coach of the Year and guided teams to five playoff series victories.
Additionally, in those five playoff appearances, his teams have only been eliminated once in the first round.
D’Antoni’s teams have produced some of the most exciting basketball to watch in the history of the game, as his wide open "run fast and shoot quick" mentality perennially produces one of the league’s highest scoring teams.
This year’s Knicks have continued that trend, amassing the Eastern Conference’s top scoring team and becoming the NBA’s second most efficient scoring team.
With the mid-season addition of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to couple with Amar'e Stoudemire, New York has its own version of the Big Three.
The question with all D’Antoni coached teams remains—can they play enough (or any) defense to give themselves a chance to go all the way?
The Knicks present a host of matchup problems for any team and can score in bunches, but it will be up to D’Antoni to instill and execute some type of defensive gameplan if the Knicks want to get out of the first round.
TITLE CHANCES: NO SHOT
No. 7: Rick Carlisle
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Rick Carlisle – Dallas Mavericks
This Season: 57-25
Overall Record: 443-295 (nine seasons, eight winning seasons, eight playoff appearances, three teams, NBA Coach of the Year 2001-02)
Playoff Record: 37-41 (eight playoff series wins, last appearance prior to this year: 2010)
Carlisle is another NBA Coach of the Year recipient and has produced outstanding basketball teams wherever he has been.
Winning eight playoff series as head coach, Carlisle brings the most playoff games coached to the table (78) thus far on our list.
Carlisle has twice guided teams to their respective conference finals but has yet to break through to the NBA Finals.
This season has perhaps been Carlisle's finest as a head coach, taking a Maverick’s team that many thought did not have enough talent surrounding future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki to become a serious threat in the Western Conference.
Carlisle and the Mavs have answered those critics from the outset of the season and were no lower than the third overall team in the West the entire year.
The bugaboo over the years for this Dallas team has been the devastating playoff defeats—too many coming to teams with inferior talent.
Now, once again, Dallas has put together another outstanding regular season, and it will be the job of the cool and calm Rick Carlisle to see if he can help this franchise overcome their playoff failures and make a run through the vaunted Western Conference.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 6: Stan Van Gundy
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Stan Van Gundy – Orlando Magic
This Season: 52-30
Overall Record: 334-179 (seven seasons, seven winning seasons, seven playoff appearances, two teams)
Playoff Record: 45-31 (nine playoff series wins, one Eastern Conference Championship, last appearance prior to this year: 2010)
Van Gundy gets a bad rap in coaching circles, but he shouldn’t. Just look at his résumé: in seven seasons, Van Gundy has never had a losing record.
In five of those seven seasons, his teams collected 50 or more wins. He has led teams to nine playoff series wins, twice reaching the Eastern Conference finals and once winning the Eastern Conference championship.
Van Gundy commands respect from his players, his teams compete hard on a nightly basis and they are consistently one of the better defensive teams in the NBA.
Look, it's simple: Van Gundy is one of the best six or seven guys at his profession in the world.
Wouldn’t you like to be one of the top seven people in the world at your job?
The résumé speaks for itself that this guy can flat out coach, but—oh, you knew there was a but—it just seems like there's always one time during the playoffs Van Gundy is going to make an egregious error that will cost his team a game.
In the playoffs, you can’t afford to make mistakes that cost your team a game because each series is so tight that one game can completely swing momentum.
Hopefully for Magic fans and Van Gundy, sometime soon, the so-called "master of panic" will master the pressure of the NBA Playoffs and make all the right calls to get his team the ultimate prize.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 5: Tom Thibodeau
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Tom Thibodeau – Chicago Bulls
This Season: 62-20
Overall Record: 62-20 (one season, one winning season, one playoff appearance, one team)
Playoff Record: None
No doubt some will argue with the placement of Thibodeau this high on the list—I get it, I really do. It is Thibodeau’s first year as a head coach, and he has never seen the bullets fly in the NBA Playoffs.
While inexperience can be seen as negative, it is also an unknown.
What we do know is that Thibodeau is the first and only first-year head coach to lead his team to the NBA’s best overall record, one of only two to garner a No. 1 seed in his first year and he is a defensive genius.
Because it is defense that wins championships, I like the Bulls and Thibodeau’s chances this postseason.
From the start of the year, Thibodeau has demanded and gotten excellent team defense, great individual effort, and he weathered significantly missed playing time from two of his top four players.
All we have to judge Thibodeau by is this one outstanding season in which the Chicago Bulls and MVP-candidate Derrick Rose improved their win total by a staggering 21 games.
Furthermore, the Bulls have never lost three games in row at any point this season, and they lost back-to-back games only four times.
Additionally, the Bulls have put together two eight-plus game winning streaks this season.
Thibodeau has this Bulls team peaking at the right time; they rebound, they play as fundamentally sound defense as there is in the NBA and they have the only player to in the NBA in the Top 10 in both points and assists in Rose.
Could Thibodeau complete this already record-setting first year of coaching?
Only time will tell, but his intensity and commitment to perfection will help this young team make a deep run in this year’s playoffs.
Title chances: SHOT
No. 4: George Karl
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George Karl – Denver Nuggets
This Season: 50-32
Overall Record: 1036-703 (23 seasons, 20 winning seasons, 20 playoff appearances, five teams)
Playoff Record: 74-93 (13 playoff series wins, one Western Conference Championship, four Western Conference Finals appearances, last playoff appearance prior to this year: 2010)
Karl is a NBA coaching legend.
Karl, along with Phil Jackson, are the only two playoff coaches with more than 1,000 wins.
Karl has led teams to 20 winning seasons, 20 playoff appearances, 11 50-win campaigns, 13 playoff-series victories, four Western Finals appearances and one Western Conference championship.
Even with all those achievements in his illustrious career, it is this season that Karl may have done his finest coaching.
With the constant distraction surrounding the Carmelo Anthony trade saga, Karl was the glue that held this Nugget team together.
More impressive was how Karl actually improved his team after the trade. Many thought the Nuggets would fade after losing Melo, but the opposite happened. Instead, the Nuggets surged, becoming one of nine 50-win teams.
Karl will need to work his mastery once again in this year’s first round if he wants to add another playoff series win to record book.
Title chances: NO SHOT
No. 3: Doc Rivers
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Doc Rivers – Boston Celtics
This Season: 56-26
Overall Record: 507-406 (12 seasons, nine winning seasons, eight playoff appearances, two teams, NBA Coach of the Year 1999-00)
Playoff Record: 46-40 (eight playoff series wins, two Eastern Conference Championships, one NBA Title, last playoff appearance prior to this year: 2010)
Rivers is one of three coaches in this year’s playoff field to have led a team to the top of the mountain.
Rivers has a championship ring, and he may well have had one or two more if not for some untimely injuries over the past couple of seasons.
Rivers is an excellent defensive coach, and it is his commitment to defense that has positioned his teams to win two of the last three NBA titles.
Rivers has been known as one of the great motivators the game has seen, and this is evidenced by his the way his players compete on a nightly basis.
In addition to his NBA Championship and two NBA Finals appearances, Rivers was also the NBA Coach of the Year all the way back in his rookie season in the 1999-2000 campaign.
Rivers could stamp his name in the coaching hall of fame with another title.
Rivers will need to get his team back to playing that tough, gritty take-no-prisoners defense if he wants to get this Celtic team back to the Finals.
Title chances: SHOT
No. 2: Gregg Popovich
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Gregg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs
This Season: 61-21
Overall Record: 797-382 (15 seasons, 14 winning seasons, 14 playoff appearances, one team, NBA Coach of the Year 2002-03)
Playoff Record: 106-69 (24 playoff series wins, four Western Conference Championship, four NBA Championships, last playoff appearance prior to this year: 2010)
If Karl is a legend and Rivers is climbing towards the Hall of Fame, then Popovich is already a legend and a Hall of Fame head coach.
One of only two coaches in this playoff field to have multiple NBA titles, Popovich is as good a coach as you could ask for.
Popovich is a master strategist and is widely regarded as one of the greatest playoff coaches of all time.
His four NBA titles put him fifth all time, trailing only Pat Riley, John Kundla, Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson.
Popovich has positioned his Spurs with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and did it when many predicted his aging All-Star roster would start to fade to the middle of the pack in the cutthroat west.
That did not happen; the Spurs were the wire-to-wire leader in the West from October to April.
Now comes an opportunity for Popovich and the Spurs to get that fifth ring, which would tie him with Riley and Kundla for third all-time.
To get that title, Popovich will have to continue his excellent leadership of this veteran club.
Title chances: SHOT
No. 1: Phil Jackson
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Phil Jackson – Los Angeles Lakers
This Season: 57-25
Overall Record: 1155-485 (20 seasons, 20 winning seasons, 20 playoff appearances, two teams, NBA Coach of the Year 1995-96)
Playoff Record: 225-98 (55 playoff series wins, 13 combined Eastern and Western Conference Championships, 11 NBA Championships, last playoff appearance prior to this year: 2010)
DUH! In the most anti-climatic and anticipated ranking, Jackson is the No. 1 coach in this year’s playoff field.
Jackson might be first on the list of greatest coaches, regardless of sport.
Think about it—what other coach in any sport has so thoroughly dominated the competition?
Phil has guided his team to the NBA Finals in 13 of the last 18 seasons in which he has coached. Ridiculous. Winning 11 of those 13 times—good for first all-time. Filthy.
Jackson is the greatest coach in NBA basketball history.
During his 20 seasons as a head coach, only five other franchises besides those he has led have won championships.
The Spurs have four titles, the Rockets and Pistons each have two, the Heat have one and the Celtics have one.
That’s it.
And in one of those years (2004-05), when San Antonio won it, Phil was in Montana meditating.
Phil will be looking for an unprecedented 12th NBA title this summer but may have to do his finest coaching job to achieve that goal.
Title chances: SHOT
