We are a month into the NBA season, and while we don’t hand out awards until the end of the season, players and coaches have started to put together enough work for us to discuss who has been performing well. In a league where players get the lion’s share of the credit, coaching matters.
Which coaches have been the best so far this season?
No. 5 Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder hit the reset button after the 2020 season. They’ve amassed a haul of draft capital, 15 first-round picks and 22 second-round picks over the next seven years. They are the team in the best position to make a significant trade to acquire a superstar and jump to the top of the contender list.
A big reason they are ready is the development and play of their young players not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and that’s a credit to Daigneault.
Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort are plus starters. Rookie Chet Holmgren is the second-most impactful player on the team behind SGA. Last year when Holmgren was hurt and didn’t play, he and Daigneault met one-on-one daily. Connecting with your players is huge.
The Thunder play an incredible five out system with excellent action and off-ball movement, and on defense they are connected. They’re sixth in aNET rating and have a top 10 offense and defense.
No. 4 J.B. Bickerstaff, Cleveland Cavaliers
Despite only being 8-6, and having the 13th best offense, the Cavaliers are top 5 in aNET rating. That’s because they have a defensive identity (currently fourth), and they’ve had that since Bickerstaff became the head coach.
They had a game recently where they gave up 130 points to the Sacramento Kings and Bickerstaff challenged the group to be committed on that end of the floor. Since then they’ve won four straight.
No. 3 Chris Finch, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves have the league’s best defense so far this season. Finch has the entire team connected and on a string. Rudy Gobert becoming more familiar with the team’s schemes is a huge help, and so is defensive buy-in from the team’s ascending star, Anthony Edwards. Karl-Anthony Towns is defending for the first time in his career.
None of that happens by accident. Finch has gotten through to his team with the help of veteran Mike Conley, and they are atop the Western Conference.
No. 2 Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
The Heat are off to a faster start than they normally are to start the season. They’re four games above .500 and their defense is ranked eighth. They have limitations in the half court, especially when Jimmy Butler doesn’t play. But Duncan Robinson has displayed a new off the bounce game, and Tyler Herro is still a very good player.
Stability and culture are the cornerstones of the organization, and Spoelstra plays a big role in that.
No. 1. Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics
The No. 1 team in the league is the Celtics. They rank first in offense and second in defense. Last season Mazzulla took over the reins under weird circumstances. This season he had an entire offseason to prepare and install the systems and principles he believes in.
He has a command of the situation that wasn’t present last year. He benched his starters in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies this month, a game they won.
“I still think you have to go through stuff. I can’t have the expectation of perfection that we’re always going to play well. That’s just not reality; there’s 82 of these things. It doesn’t mean I’m happy. Like, I’m not happy about it,” Mazzulla said after the game.
Hard to imagine him doing that a year ago.