Friday Faceoff: Is David Adelman the NBA Coach of the Year?

Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets writer

Answer: No

Denver’s new coach should end up on just about every awards ballot, but don’t expect David Adelman to win the award.

A few factors are working against the Nuggets’ new coach. First, Denver’s not going to finish with the Western Conference’s best record, and ending the season in the top four is going to come down to how well they survive the next few weeks until Nikola Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas and Cam Johnson return. Detroit’s growing its lead out East under J.B. Bickerstaff’s guidance, and San Antonio’s making up ground on Oklahoma City in Mitch Johnson’s first full year in a loaded Western Conference. That’s enough for some of the more surface-level voters.

Another thing working against Adelman is Denver’s offseason. The shrewd moves made by Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace to increase versatility and depth actually hurt Adelman’s case.

The last thing working against Adelman is last year’s playoffs. Adelman showed he’s more than capable of handling things in two high-profile series that each went seven games. That diminishes some of the surprise factor that typically helps first-year coaches in the vote. The same can’t be said of Jordan Ott, who’s leading an impressive turnaround in Phoenix.

The combination of factors is going to make it nearly impossible for Adelman to win the award this season, but he will deservedly finish in the top three.

Tyler King, college sports writer

Answer: Yes

Okay, maybe this is just a bias because I picked Adelman to win Coach of the Year before this season, and, selfishly, I’d like to be right. However, I just don’t see a coach who has had a more impressive season than the one running the show here in Denver.

Yes, Bickerstaff in Detroit would probably win the award if voting was held today. But the Pistons were always a team that felt like it was on the verge of a breakthrough. After getting into the postseason last year and competing hard against the Knicks in the first round, it makes sense that they’ve seized the power vacuum at the top of the Eastern Conference, to this point of the season.

But the East is the East and the West is the West, and the fact that the Nuggets — who haven’t had a full lineup for six weeks now — remain at No. 3 in the standings despite all of the players that have been in and out of the lineup is a credit to Adelman.

This nearly two-week road trip out East was a prime example. It saw Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas go down and while Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun returned in between, Cam Johnson has still been out and Jamal Murray was running on fumes by the end.

On the way to grabbing three important wins, all against teams in the top five of the East, Adelman got contributions out of everyone on the roster. The shorthanded win in Philadelphia, in particular, is his magnum opus to date.

Peyton Watson is having a career year, Jalen Pickett has played excellently, Spencer Jones is providing an incredible amount on a two-way contract, and, suddenly out of nowhere, Zeke Nnaji is a viable rotation player. None of that is a coincidence.

Adelman is the reason this roster appears as deep as it has in years and that’s the reason, assuming that they’re back to full strength in the next few months, that no one has given up hope Denver can win the NBA title.