The Denver Nuggets finished in third place in the Western Conference standings despite a plethora of injuries. Nuggets rookie head coach David Adelman led the team to a 54-28 record, one of the best records in Nuggets franchise history. Despite the need to come up with the answer to the jigsaw puzzle on a near-nightly basis while the Nuggets dealt with those injuries and continued to win, Adelman was completely glossed over in the NBA's Coach of the Year Voting. How?
The voters, comprised of members of the media, looked right past Adelman and did not give him a single vote. No, he didn't deserve to win, of course not. That honor went to Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
But Adelman deserved at least one vote if Tyrone Lue received a third-place vote for leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 42-40 record, not even advancing into the playoffs. That seems a little ridiculous. In fact, Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott received one second-place vote and eight third-place votes despite the Suns' 45-37, seventh-place record. How did Adelman not get at least one third-place vote?
Was it the Nikola Jokic effect?
It really is kind of baffling that Adelman didn't receive a single vote, even though coaches with lesser seasons did. The only thing that even remotely pops into thought at the moment is the presence of Nikola Jokic. Is he simply so good that the voters thought Adelman didn't get enough out of him and the Nuggets? Were they expecting more from a team without their glue guy, Aaron Gordon, for most of the year?
It's disrespectful to Adelman. He was done dirty by the voters. He did a great job managing what he had most of the time. One gripe the fans could have with Adelman is that he didn't play the young guys like DaRon Holmes, Jalen Pickett, or Julian Strawther enough to see what the Nuggets have got with them, but neither did Michael Malone.
Aside from that? What more can you ask for during the regular season? Joker went down for 16 games in the middle of the season, and the Nuggets went 10-6 without him. Adelman found the right combinations and played the right mix at the right time, and the Nuggets responded.
Perhaps, it's the small-market Denver effect, too. Whatever the reason, David Adelman deserved at least one third-place vote for Coach of the Year, and the Nuggets have a fair gripe about it.
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