Houston Rockets award candidates: Stephen Silas – Coach of the Year
This one would be a tough one to reach but if it happens then that means that the Houston Rockets are a playoff team and that’s a great thing for being just one year removed from the departure of James Harden. If the Rockets can manage to squeak by through the extremely stacked Western Conference and into the eighth seed of the playoffs, Stephen Silas shouldn’t just be awarded Coach of the Year honors, he should have the award named after him.
With how terrible the Rockets were in 2020, Silas can really make an impact on this group should everyone remain healthy and play to their potential. The second-year Rockets head coach had high expectations going into the 2020 season until the team fell apart due to Harden’s departure, brutal injuries and players missing time due to COVID-19. Hopefully, there won’t be any of that this season, but the biggest challenge is overcoming the lack of experience that this Rockets team has.
If the Rockets are rolling out a lineup of Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate, Alperen Sengun and Christian Wood, that’s a lot of inexperienced players. Regardless of what Silas’ lineup is, he’ll have to weather the storm early and make sure his guys are focused on the game and playing their brand of basketball. There’s no room for mistakes if the team is going to get close to competing for the playoffs again this season. If this Rockets team can be somewhat competitive, there’s no reason for anyone other than Silas to be awarded the Coach of the Year honors this season.