And according to FoxSports' Mike Kahn, Nate McMillan is on the short list of possible coach of the year candidates.
But how can you ignore what Nate McMillan has accomplished with his precocious Portland Trail Blazers? They dealt their lone inside threat – 20-and-10 power forward Zach Randolph with the understanding that top overall draft choice Greg Oden would be there to dominate inside. Instead, Oden’s out for the year following knee surgery and they have neither. It didn’t matter, he spurred the youngest team in the league to a 13-game winning streak.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: If the Blazers make the playoffs, Nate McMillan should win COY.
We all have so much confidence in Nate. His knowlege of what it takes to compete with every team is excellent. His belief in each team member helps bring out the best in each player. Getting contributions from different players on different nights is a winning strategy. When you have just one person doing most of the scoring it undermines the confidence of the rest of the players. Look at the Lakers the last couple of years. Kobe was handling most of the scoring but they really didn't accompish much as a team. They are a different team this year without having to have 50 point games from Kobe every night. I am thrilled with example we are providing for the rest of the NBA of what unselfish play can accomplish. The game is going to start is about 30 minutes so I'm going to watch the pregame show.
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