Houston Rockets: Should Mike D’Antoni win Coach of the Year?

The Houston Rockets season is over and although they ran through most of the season like a freight train, they ran smack into a concrete wall in the playoffs.

The Houston Rockets season is over and although they ran through most of the season like a freight train, they ran smack into a concrete wall in the playoffs.

The way the team finished up a 55-27 season was disappointing to say the least.

After such a successful run through the regular season and gritty finish to the first-round match up with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets imploded against the San Antonio Spurs when times got tough.

Isn’t it supposed to be a moment where an athlete rises to the occasion when they’re tested the most?

It’s supposed to but the Houston Rockets folded like a cheap tent in Game 6 and I’m not going to forget about it for awhile.

In fact, I’m still sore over it but I think those wounds will heal over time, especially if Daryl Morey strikes it big in the trade market for a big this summer.

More from House of Houston

• Are you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?
• Houston Texans: 4 reasons Romeo Crennel is right coach right now
• Astros-Twins Wild Card Series: 5 things to know as MLB postseason begins
• Houston Texans: The Most Underrated Sports Drought Ever
• Houston Texans: J.J. Watt’s early case for NFL Hall of Fame

But despite what happened in the playoffs, we can’t discount what happened during the season, which was quite remarkable.

A lot that credit falls on Mike D’Antoni shoulders, who has instituted a culture, a system and just an overall healthy environment for these guys to succeed.

We were projected to be barely sniffing a playoff spot but 2016-17 saw us holding on the No. 3 seed in the West for most of the way.

I have to admit, I was quite skeptical of the D’Antoni hire — I wanted Scott Brooks or Frank Vogel — but he quickly changed my opinion when I saw how good we were when his system was clicking on all cylinders.

But as a result of our success, D’Antoni has been honored.

According the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen, D’Antoni has been named a finalist for Coach of the Year along with the Spurs Gregg Popovich and the Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra:

This is a well-deserved distinction for D’Antoni who gave it his all out on the sidelines to help this team become better.

I’m incredibly glad that he’s here.

We knew that our offense was going to be one of the best of in the league — we were Top 5 for all the way.

They finished 2nd in the season overall, putting up 111.8 points per 100 possessions and 7th in the postseason (107.2 per 100).

They broke the single-season record in three-pointers back in late March with 1,078 to their credit and the team went on to go on to a remarkable 1181-for-3306 for a 35.7 percent clip. 

More from Houston Rockets

• Houston Rockets and Texans: Two different coaches with one glaring similarity
• Houston Rockets: Dig in, make threes, win series
• Houston Rockets: The time to make a statement is now
• Houston Rockets: Rest Russell Westbrook for remainder of the OKC series
• Houston Rockets: G2: What has put the team in driver’s seat against OKC

But the aspect that we all worried about was the defense, which was far from perfect but was good enough middle of the pack with the help of defensive czar Jeff Bzdelik as well as Roy Rogers.

They finished 17th in defensive efficiency, allowing 106.4 points per 100 possessions and 5th in the postseason (107.1 per 100). 

I’ve come to a realization that this team won’t have elite defenders but will rally when it’s needed the most.

It certainly could’ve been done against the Spurs.

We could criticize that D’Antoni could’ve loosened the reins on his seven-man rotation in the playoffs but ultimately I trust what the man is doing.

That’s why he should be the NBA Coach of the Year because nobody thought — even myself — that the Rockets would be THIS GOOD.

COY Awards are handed to those who do outstanding jobs on the sidelines, the film room, one-on-ones and D’Antoni fits the bill.

You could give Pop that award every year but that’s not possible or plausible.

Next: Can James Harden's gult be proven in court?

Spoelstra is one of the NBA’s finest coaches and had the Heat sneaked in the playoffs, I guarantee they would’ve put some pressure on the Boston Celtics or whomever they would’ve faced.

But there’s one man who deserves and that’s D’Antoni, who is the perfect fit for this team.

Hopefully we get some leaks before then but we’ll find out at the awards show scheduled for June 26th.

I think the Rockets have a great chance of snagging the COY and 6th man awards with Eric Gordon and Lou Williams named finalists.

We’ll see — go Rockets!