NBA Coach of the Year: November 27th, 2021 | Latest Power Rankings by Sportskeeda
With the NBA wrapping up its sixth week of the 2021-22 season, the standings have started to take shape. The championship contenders have started to separate themselves from the rest, while the struggling and injured rosters are racking up losses.
The Charlotte Hornets are 13-8 right now. They have won eight of their last nine games, including wins over the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards (twice) and the New York Knicks. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. and the Wizards started the season strong. But they have now lost four of their last six games, including against bottom-table New Orleans Pelicans.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets are atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 14-5 record, but they haven't looked like a championship team yet. They have had the luxury of an easier schedule through their first 19 games. However, they have gone 2-5 against teams with a record over .500.
Head coach Steve Nash doesn't believe the Nets are in the same category of other title-contending teams in the league. So he doesn't feature in our top five NBA Coach of the Year power rankings.
Steve Nash doesn't think the Nets are "in that category yet" of top teams like the Warriors on.sny.tv/nCaslnk https://t.co/99fL1or386
Our bottom three in the top five are mostly interchangeable through this week. The Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz and Miami Heat have all had disappointing losses and a drop in net rating in their last four games.
So without further ado, let's have a look at who makes the top five NBA Coach of the Year Power rankings by Sportskeeda.
#5 Billy Donovan
Previous week's NBA Coach of the Year Power Ranking - 5th (-)
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 2; Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 20; Games won - 13; Games lost - 7
Offensive Rating: 109.7 (12th of 30)
Defensive Rating: 105.3 (6th of 30)
Average Points Scored: 108.2 (13th of 30)
Average Points Conceded: 103.8 (7th of 30).
Coach Billy Donovan has maintained his fifth spot in our NBA COTY power rankings. But he might slip out of the top 5 if the Chicago Bulls continue to lose games they are supposed to win.
The Bulls' offensive rating has dropped an entire point, and is now 12th in the NBA, down from seventh last week. Two of their four losses this week were against struggling teams like the 8-11 Indiana Pacers and the 1-15 Houston Rockets.
Billy Donovan: “The best players and the best teams are internally motivated, not externally motivated.”
Said Bulls have shown signs of being that type of team, but not consistently enough. Added he and coaching staff can do more to bring it out of them
#4 Quin Snyder
Previous week's NBA Coach of the Year Power Ranking - 3rd (↓1)
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 2; Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 19; Games won - 12; Games lost - 7
Offensive Rating: 113.8 (3rd of 30)
Defensive Rating: 105.2 (5th of 30)
Average Points Scored: 111.5 (4th of 30)
Average Points Conceded: 103.2 (4th of 30).
The Utah Jazz lost to bottom-table New Orleans Pelicans in their last game, where their lackadaisical effort was alarming. They were sloppy with the ball and got no defensive stops when it mattered most. Donovan Mitchell spoke about the team and their lack of attention and energy after the loss, saying:
"We're just not playing well. I'm just not playing well. I mean, it just doesn't look good right now. This sh*** happened twice in a week. This shouldn’t happen."
Mitchell refered to the one-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and suggested that the team has endured similar heartbreaking losses. They also dropped in defensive and offensive rating from first and fourth in the NBA last week to third and fifth, respectively, right now.
The Jazz need to get back on track if they want to avoid sliding down the NBA standings.