Joe Mazzulla? Doc Rivers? Jacque Vaughn? Who leads the NBA Coach of the Year
race?
Joe Mazzulla? Doc Rivers? Jacque Vaughn? 誰領跑NBA 年度最佳教練獎項?

https://tinyurl.com/mrk8y892 (The Athletic需付費)
作者:Josh Robbins, Sam Amick, James Edwards
Feb 1, 2023

Selecting an NBA Coach of the Year is a subjective endeavor.

This year’s competition features some familiar faces such as Mike Brown,
Mike Budenholzer and Doc Rivers, who all have won the award before. This year
’s contenders also include several candidates who are relatively new to the
scene by comparison: Taylor Jenkins, Joe Mazzulla and Jacque Vaughn.

So how is this season’s Coach of the Year race shaping up?

To answer that question, we turned to three members of The Athletic’s NBA
staff who voted for the award last year: Sam Amick, James L. Edwards III and
Josh Robbins.

評選NBA年度最佳教練是一件主觀的事。

今年的賽季出現了一些熟悉的面孔，例如 Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer 和 Doc
Rivers，他們之前都曾獲獎過。今年的競爭者還包括幾位相對較新的候選人：Taylor
Jenkins, Joe Mazzulla 和 Jacque Vaughn 。

那麼本賽季的年度最佳教練競爭進展如何呢？

我們請了去年為該獎項投票的三位The Athletic 記者： Sam Amick、James L. Edwards
III和Josh Robbins 來回答這個問題

What are your criteria for selecting the NBA’s Coach of the Year?

Sam Amick: Breaking down the Coach of the Year race is always an inexact
science. You don’t have the sort of empirical data that play such a big part
in evaluating which players deserve all of the individual awards, nor do you
have a crystal-clear understanding of how each coach has impacted his team on
a daily basis. In the absence of that, I tend to focus on a few things.

1. Coaches whose teams were far better than we expected them to be.

2. Coaches whose teams appeared greater than the sum of their parts.

3. Coaches who appear to have synergy stylistically with star player(s) and
role guys.

4. Here’s my personal cheat code: I favor coaches who impress their fellow
coaches, scouts and executives around the league with whom we routinely speak
with and whose insight is invaluable. To put it simply, those people spend
every waking moment analyzing this stuff and are the real experts.

問: 選擇NBA年度最佳教練的標準是什麼？

Sam Amick：分析年度最佳教練獎項是一門不太精準的科學。畢竟評估教練無法像評估球
員一樣有個人數據可以當作參考，也無法清楚地了解每位教練每天如何執教他的球隊。在
沒有上述的條件下，我傾向著重在以下幾點。

1. 球隊表現比預期的要好得多。
2. 整體團隊數據在聯盟水準之上。
3. 在腳色球員和明星球員分配上有達到協調作用。
4. 這是我個人偏好：我喜歡那些能對其他球隊教練、球探和高層留下深刻印象的教練，
我們經常與他們交談，他們的觀察力是無價的。簡單來說，這些人無時無刻都在分析這些
東西，他們是真正的專家。

James Edwards: I’m very much a sucker for a good story. Has a team exceeded
my expectations? Does a team put up a fight on most nights? Are the vibes
good? Loosely, that is my criteria.

A lot of the NBA’s awards are determined on high-level team success, and
while I understand that to an extent, I think it is often very shortsighted.

If a team we expected to be in the bottom three ends up playing .500
basketball past the halfway point of the season, that’s something, and it
should be celebrated the same way we crown good teams for being, well, good.

James Edwards：我喜歡一個好的故事。球隊是否超出了我的預期？球隊每場球賽都拼盡
全力嗎？球隊氛圍好嗎？簡單來說，這些是我的標準。

NBA 很多獎項都是由那些優秀球隊來決定得主的，雖然我能理解這一點，但我認為這是非
常短視的。

如果我們季前預測一支球隊，排在聯盟倒數前三，結果在賽季中打了五成勝率。那我們應
該以同樣的方式去表揚該球隊。

Josh Robbins: Has the coach’s team significantly exceeded expectations? Is
the coach’s team more than the sum of its parts? Do the players have clearly
defined roles, and do they avoid going beyond those roles — what coaches
would label “purpose of play”? Has the coach successfully guided the team
through injuries to key players or off-court issues?

The answers to those questions tend to determine my vote, and the answers
clearer as the season progresses.

Josh Robbins：球隊表現是否明顯超出預期？整體團隊是否在聯盟水準之上？球員是否有
明確的角色分配？有無避免這些球員做超出他們角色的工作？教練如何給與“戰術”
？教練是否成功地帶領球隊克服球員傷病或場外問題?

這些問題的答案往往會決定我的投票，並且隨著賽季的進行，答案會更加明確。

Nine of the last 10 Coach of the Year winners coached a team that finished
third or better in its conference standings. The only exception occurred for
the 2020-21 season, when the New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau won the award
after his team placed fourth in the East. What would it take for a coach
whose team is not in the top three of its conference to win the award?

過去 10 位年度最佳教練中，有 9 位教練的球隊在分區排名至少都有前三。唯一一次例
外發生在 2020-21 賽季的紐約尼克隊，當時Tom Thibodeau帶領的尼克在東區排第四。對
於球隊戰績不在分區前三名的教練來說，要獲得這個獎項需要什麼條件？

Amick: This might be another outlier year on this front, and I’d be entirely
comfortable with that being the case if it’s one of these two guys:
Sacramento’s Mike Brown or Brooklyn’s Jacque Vaughn. The Kings are far
better than anyone expected, and Brown’s fingerprints are all over their
progress. If they finished, say, fourth in the West, that would be quite
incredible considering this is a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs
since … 2006! As for Vaughn, he has been a steadying force ever since the
Nets parted ways with Steve Nash in early November and gave him the reins.
Even with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant missing significant time, and the Ben
Simmons experience continuing to be a roller coaster, Brooklyn is hanging
around with the East’s elite. If the Nets are a fourth seed, I could see
Vaughn winning it.

Sam Amick: 在這方面，今年可能又是一個異常的年份，如果是國王隊Mike Brown 或籃網
隊 Jacque Vaughn 這兩個人其中的一個得獎，我能可以接受。國王隊今年打得比大家預
期還要好得多，Brown的足跡遍布國王隊的發展。如果他們以西區第四的成績結束賽季，
那將是非常不可思議的，畢竟這是支自2006年以來就沒有進過季後賽的球隊！至於
Vaughn，自從籃網在11月初與 Steve Nash 分道揚鑣後，Vaughn一直是個穩定的力量。即
使 Kyrie Irving 和 Kevin Durant 缺席了很多時間，Ben Simmons起起伏伏，籃網仍能
在東區名列前茅。如果籃網是第四種子，我可以預測Vaughn會贏。

Edwards: Similar to what I explained up top, exceeding expectations.
Obviously, expectations vary depending on who you talk to, but I think we as
NBA media tend to have collective thinking when it comes to which teams we
think will or won’t be good. Every year, though, there are always surprises.
I like to reward those surprises.

Spoiler alert: My pick for Coach of the Year coaches a team that has capital
“E” exceeded everyone’s expectations.

James Edwards: 與我在上面解釋的差不多，就是超出預期。顯然地，每個人的期望有所
不同，但我認為作為NBA媒體，當我們談到哪些球隊會表現好或不好時，我們傾向於集體
思考。不過，每年總會有驚喜發生。而我喜歡獎勵那些驚喜。

劇透：我選出的年度最佳教練執教了一支超出了所有人預期的球隊。

Robbins: I wouldn’t have any qualms voting for a coach whose team finishes
outside of the top three in its conference as long as that team has exceeded
reasonable expectations by a wide margin.

Josh Robbins: 只要球隊打出超出預期的表現，就算是排在分區前三之外， 我也會毫無
疑慮地投給他。

The NBA asks voters to pick first-, second- and third-place for Coach of the
Year. Taking into account games through games played so far, how would you
vote today?

截至目前為止，你今天會怎麼選出年度最佳教練的第一、第二和第三名。？

Amick: First of all, I reserve the right to change my mind a dozen more times
before the season comes to an end. But if I’m picking today, then I’d go
with Brown (the Kangz, err, Kings are third in the West), Vaughn (for the
reasons mentioned above) and Rivers (for now, it appears he has persuaded his
stars to align in the kind of way that has the Sixers looking title-contender
worthy). Boston’s Mazzulla is in the mix too, of course, as the Celtics have
been out in front all season long despite the Ime Udoka controversy that
could have derailed their operation. In terms of a Coach of the Year homework
assignment, I need to learn more about how the Celtics folks and rival scouts
see the part that he has played.

Sam Amick: 首先，我保留在賽季結束前再改變主意十幾次的權利。但如果今天讓我選的
話，我會選國王Brown(西區第三)，籃網Vaughn(原因前面提過)和七六人Rivers(目前看起
來，他已經整合了球隊中的明星，讓七六人看起來有機會衝擊冠軍)。當然，賽爾提克的
Mazzulla也在其中，因為賽爾提克在整個賽季都處於聯盟龍頭位置，儘管Ime Udoka的事
件破壞之前球隊的運作。就年度最佳教練討論而言，我需要更多地了解賽爾提克和球探是
如何看待Mazzulla所扮演的角色。

Edwards: I’ve been hinting at who my pick is, and it’s someone whose name I
’m not sure 60 percent of basketball fans — and that number might be
cutting it way short — knew to start the season: Mark Daigneault. People are
learning to say his name now.

After that, I have the Kings’ Mike Brown at No. 2 and then New Orleans’
Willie Green at No.3.

James Edwards：我一直在暗示我的選擇是誰，我不確定在開季前，有沒有60%的球迷知道
這個人:雷霆隊教練Mark Daigneault。人們正在認識他的名字。

之後是國王隊的Mike Brown排在第 2 位，然後是鵜鶘隊的Willie Green排在第 3 位。
Robbins: A lot can change before the end of the regular season, but if the
season had ended Monday, my ballot would have Brown first, Vaughn second and
Mazzulla third.

Last season, the Kings finished 12th in the West at 30-52. Brown was hired
during the offseason and has guided the Kings to third place in the West at
28-21. I know Domantas Sabonis was a trade-deadline acquisition last year, so
I’m not quite comparing apples to apples, but Brown’s impact on the Kings
has been superb. (Sacramento posted a 5-10 record last season in games
Sabonis played.)

Josh Robbins：在例行賽結束之前，很多事情都會發生變化，但如果賽季在周一結束，我
的選票將是Brown 第一，Vaughn 第二，Mazzulla 第三。

上賽季，國王隊戰績 30勝52敗排在西區第 12 位。Brown 在休賽期被雇用，本季帶領國
王隊以 28勝21敗的成績排名西區第三。我知道 Domantas Sabonis 是去年的交易截止日
期換來的，我不是就此而比較，但Brown對國王有卓越的影響。（國王上賽季在Sabonis
加入後出賽後戰積為 5 勝10敗。）

What separated your choice for the winner from your choice for runner-up?

第一名和第二名的差別在哪?

Amick: Full disclosure, I live near Sacramento and have since even before my
days as a Kings beat writer for The Sacramento Bee (2005-10). Point being, I
was actually in the building the last time the Kings made the playoffs and
have a front row seat now to the excitement this “Beam Team” has sparked in
the community this season. But even beyond that impossible-to-ignore context,
the fact remains that the Kings (so far) have exceeded expectations more, in
my opinion, than the Nets. At least from a talent standpoint. Once you factor
in the Durant trade request in the summer, his calling for the dismissal of
GM Sean Marks and Nash and Irving’s well-chronicled choice to share
antisemitic material on his social media, you start to understand why Vaughn
deserves a ton of credit for steadying their basketball ship.

Sam Amick: 坦白地說，在我成為國王作家之前我就住在Sacramento 附近。重點是，上次
國王隊進到季後賽時，我實際上就在球場裡。而現在我坐在前排，看著這支 “Beam Team
” 在本季引起轟動 。但拋開這背景故事，在我看來國王隊（到目前為止）比籃網隊更
超出預期。至少從天賦的角度來看。一但你考慮到 Durant 在夏天提出的交易請求，並要
求解僱GM Sean Marks和Nash，以及Irving在社交媒體上分享反猶太主義，你就會開始理
解為什麼Vaughn 在穩定球隊方面是功不可沒的。

Edwards: Once again, it goes back to expectations. The Thunder weren’t
supposed to be this good this year — and the fact that I’m saying “this
good” and they’re two games under .500 as of me typing this says all you
need to know. This isn’t a super-talented roster. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,
who will be on my MVP ballot if this keeps up and OKC makes the Play-In
Tournament, and Josh Giddey are the household names. After that, Chet
Holmgren aside, your average NBA fan probably can’t name two other players.
And, well, can you blame them? What OKC has done this season has been
impressive. SGA has been tremendous. Giddey, too. It’s hard to get players
to continue to play hard for you, to buy in, after so many losing seasons.
Somehow, someway, Daigneault has kept everyone’s spirits high, and it’s
paying off.

As for the reason I went with Daigneault ahead of Brown, it’s the talent
level. Yes, Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player if you were to mash the
Kings and Thunder together, but Sacramento probably has the next two or three
spots locked up, and then, arguably, spots 5-9. Brown being the guy to get
the Kings, possibly, over the hump is a great achievement, and maybe I’m
contradicting myself, but he didn’t inherit a team that was lacking talent.

Maybe the coaching is the difference in Sacramento, and I just spent this
entire time accidentally talking myself into Brown. But I’m stubborn, so I’
m going to stick with Daigneault because I still can’t believe the Thunder
are basically a .500 basketball team.

James Edwards: 再一次回到了預期表現這個話題。雷霆隊今年不應該這麼好我說的
“這麼好”，是指就在我打字同時，他們距離五成勝率只差了兩場，這就說明了一切。雷
霆不是一個超級天賦球隊。Shai Gilgeous-Alexander如果按照這種情況持續下去，並且
OKC 進入附加賽，他將在我的 MVP 選票上，而 Josh Giddey 是家喻戶曉的名字。在那之
後除了Chet Holmgren，普通 NBA 球迷可能說不出另外兩位雷霆球員的名字。好吧，你能
責怪他們嗎？雷霆本賽季的表現令人印象深刻。SGA 非常棒。Giddey 也是。在經歷了這
麼多失利的賽季之後，很難讓球員繼續為你打球和信任你。不知何故，Daigneault 讓每
名球員都保持了高昂的鬥志，並得到回報。

至於我選擇 Daigneault 而不是 Brown 的原因，是球員的天賦水平。是的，如果你把國
王和雷霆所有球員混在一起排名，SGA 是最好的球員，但接下來的就是國王隊的2-3位球
員，再來5到9名還是國王隊的。Brown 是讓國王隊渡過難關的人，這是一項偉大的成就，
也許這有點矛盾，但Brown不是繼承了一支缺乏天賦的球隊。

也許差別就在於執教Sacramento，而這整段時間我也不小心說服了自己去選Brown。但我
很固執，所以我會繼續選Daigneault ，因為我仍然無法相信雷霆幾乎是一支有五成勝率
的球隊。

Robbins: The separation between Brown and Vaughn is razor-thin in my eyes.
Brown gets the slight edge because the Nets have more overall talent and
entered the season with higher expectations than the Kings had.

That said, the job Vaughn has done to steady the Nets through the midseason
dismissal of Nash, the Irving debacle and Durant’s injury has been
fantastic. Before Nash was fired, the Nets allowed 119.1 points per 100
possessions, ranking 29th in the NBA in defensive rating. Since Nash’s
dismissal, Vaughn had the Nets allowing only 111.2 points per 100 possessions
through Monday, good for sixth in the NBA.

Josh Robbins：在我看來，Brown 和Vaughn 之間的差距微乎其微。Brown 略佔優勢，因
為籃網隊比國王擁有更高的天賦，並且有著更高的期盼。

也就是說，籃網面臨賽季中解僱Nash、Irving崩潰和Durant受傷期間，Vaughn 在穩定籃
網這方面所做的工作非常棒。在Nash被解僱之前，籃網隊每百回合失分119.1分，防守效
率排名聯盟第29位。自從Nash被解僱後，Vaughn 讓籃網隊每百回合僅失分 111.2 分，
在 NBA 排名第六。

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心得:看起來Brown機率滿大的 吧?

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