The NBA was rocked on Tuesday afternoon when the Denver Nuggets fired head coach Michael Malone. While Malone had noted his players weren’t listening to him or watching film, the firing was still surprising considering he had led Denver to a 471-327 regular season record, 80-44 playoff record and the first title in franchise history in his 10 seasons with the team.
While the news creates headlines, it doesn’t seem like it has an effect on the Boston Celtics. Currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston is in the process of defending its NBA title. But as the coaching carousel heats up, this could be bad news for the Celtics in the long term and drastically alter the landscape of the Eastern Conference.
Michael Malone’s Firing Could Make Celtics’ Competition Tougher
The Celtics are in good shape but the rest of the Eastern Conference is loaded with top-tier coaches. Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers is on his way to winning the Coach of the Year Award while Erik Spoelstra, Doc Rivers and Nick Nurse have won NBA titles.
Other Eastern Conference coaches such as Quin Snyder, Rick Carlisle and Tom Thibodeau have had plenty of regular season success and Boston will have to go through one or two of these names just to make their second straight NBA Finals appearance.
But Malone’s firing makes things interesting for several contenders. The Philadelphia 76ers have fallen flat under Nurse in his second season with the team. While the health of Paul George and Joel Embiid could be used as scapegoats for a tough season, it would be easier to fire Nurse and replace him with Malone to return Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference’s elite.
The Milwaukee Bucks are also a candidate for change. Rivers is a former NBA champion, but that title came as the leader of the Celtics in 2008. Since taking over as head coach midway through last season, Rivers has posted a middling record of 61-53 and that’s not good enough with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in the same lineup.
But those are just playoff contenders and there’s a slew of other teams that could use a head coach. The Orlando Magic made the playoffs a year ago but are fighting for their lives with a 38-40 record in Jahmahl Mosley’s fourth season. The Atlanta Hawks may also be looking for the kind of progress they haven’t seen under Snyder, who owns an 83-98 record in just over two full seasons with the team. Then there’s the Chicago Bulls, who could move on from Billy Donovan and his 192-204 record in five seasons.
There’s also an angle where Malone’s firing could affect the Celtics’ staff. Sam Cassell has been an assistant on the Celtics staff for the past two seasons and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job last summer. While J.J. Redick got the Lakers’ job, Cassell remains a hot coaching candidate and could resurface as the Nuggets look for a new coach.
Some of these scenarios are more likely than others and there’s a world where Malone stays in the Western Conference after his dismissal. But his firing also is a reminder that things can get weird in the NBA’s coaching carousel and if it stops with Malone somewhere in the East, things could get a lot more difficult for the Celtics.
