Avery Johnson to be named Coach of the Year
The “Little General” Avery Johnson will be named the 2005-2006 NBA Coach of the Year, a fitting honor for his performance in his first full year as head coach. Johnson led the Dallas Mavericks to a 60-22 record, a record tied with the Mavs 2002-2003 record for best in franchise history. The Mavs have the 4th seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs. Story
Avery signed up in the 2004-2005 season with the intention of being a player-coach. When the Mavs found out the league disallowed player-coaches, Avery immediately retired and joined Don Nelson’s coaching staff. Avery got his big break when Nelson resigned as head coach and appointed Avery his successor. That was the beginning of Avery’s strong coaching career so far.
Two playoff appearances in two years is great especially for a young coach. But that’s not all. Aside from an improved Mavs record this year, Avery is responsible for a play style transformation that Mavs fans haven’t seen over the past years. Those who know the Mavs back when Nash, Finley and Dirk were together would say that they were an offensively gifted team. But due to the lack of defense, they could be up 20 and then down 20 all in the same game. the vice-versa was also true. This season, we have seen the Mavs up their “D” to a level we’ve never seen before.
I’m sure Dirk Nowitzki’s MVP-ish season had something to do with Avery too
(MVP-ish, not to say he won’t get it but to say he has a solid run in this crazy MVP race)
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