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Houston Rockets: Can Mike D’Antoni repeat as Coach of the Year?

By Gavriel Wilkins

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 20: Head Coach Mike D'Antoni of the Houston Rockets against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on March 20, 2018 in Portland, Oregon. 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 Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 20: Head Coach Mike D'Antoni of the Houston Rockets against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on March 20, 2018 in Portland, Oregon. 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 Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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After winning his second NBA Coach of the Year award in his first season with the Houston Rockets, could Mike D’Antoni become the first coach ever to win back-to-back in 2018?

Mike D’Antoni is arguably one of the greatest offensive masterminds in league history.

The 66-year-old head coach — whose high-octane and dynamic offenses helped revolutionize the game during his tenure with Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns in the mid-2000s — has managed to lead the Houston Rockets to a franchise-record 61 wins in just his second season at the helm.

As the man who took home Coach of the Year honors a season ago, D’Antoni now has Clutch City in position to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history.

This has led many to wonder if D’Antoni could become the first coach ever to win the award for a second straight season and potentially buck the trend of seasons past.

With that being said, let’s seek to examine why the two-time Coach of the Year may or may not win the Red Auerbach Trophy this time around.

Why Mike D’Antoni may win Coach of the Year

Despite winning the award in his first season with the franchise last year, Mike D’Antoni has helped the Rockets improve in every conceivable way this season.

Through 75 games played on the 2017-18 campaign, Houston currently stands atop the league in point differential and offensive rating, scoring 113.1 points per possession behind the play of Chris Paul, James Harden and Clint Capela — a trio that has proven to be virtually unstoppable whenever it’s together on the floor. In addition to this, the Rockets have a cast that D’Antoni has allowed to play with freedom throughout the majority of their stellar season, en route to producing perhaps the best offensive season the league has ever seen.

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If the season were to end today, Houston would finish with the greatest offensive rating in league history according to Basketball-Reference, surpassing last year’s Golden State Warriors and the 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers as the best ever in the history of the game.

To put that all into perspective, D’Antoni currently has this year’s Rockets squad on pace to be alongside several championship teams in the all-time record books.

Exactly one year after guiding Houston to the 12th-best offensive rating in league history last season, D’Antoni has found a way to incorporate Paul into his lineup with no problem, while also providing Harden with the ability to become one of the NBA’s marquee talents in the process. The Rockets are only just one of four teams in the league to boast both a top-10 offensive and defensive rating in 2018.

With two Western Conference Coach of the Month awards already on his mantle this season, D’Antoni most certainly appears primed to have another legitimate shot at winning the league’s grand coaching prize once again.

Why Mike D’Antoni may not win Coach of the Year

Although D’Antoni has led Houston to the best record in basketball, the Coach of the Year race is shaping up to be a fairly competitive battle toward the homestretch of the regular season. There are currently several coaches across the league who could prove to be more deserving of the award to voters following the conclusion of the year.

Brad Stevens has helped guide the Boston Celtics to a 51-23 record, despite losing Gordon Hayward to a catastrophic ankle injury in the first game of the season.

Meanwhile, Dwane Casey has miraculously steered the Toronto Raptors all the way to the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, on the way to becoming the only team in the league to rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency this season. It’s feat that only historically dominant teams such as the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have managed to pull off over the last several seasons.

As a result, the following contenders — combined with dark horses such as Terry Stotts (Portland Trail Blazers), Quin Snyder (Utah Jazz) and Nate McMillan (Indiana Pacers), could make D’Antoni’s road towards repeating tougher than expected.

Next: 2017-18 Week 24 NBA Power Rankings

With history not being on his side, Rockets fans will just have to wait and see if the run-and-gun aficionado is selected by voters once again.

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