Magic’s Doe Rivers
wins coach of the year
■ Leader’s 60 votes beat
out Phil Jackson, Paul
Silas and Jerry Sloan.
ORLANDO, Fla. - All things
considered, Doc Rivers rather would
have been somewhere else
Wednesday.
Winning the Red Auerbach
Trophy as the NBA’s Coach of
the Year didn’t soothe the pain of
being eliminated from contention ip
the next-to-last game of the regular
season.
i leu you, i wouia nave loveu 10
have been in Indiana receiving
this award,” said Rivers, whose
team finished a surprising
41-41 but finished a game
behind Milwaukee in its bid for
the eighth position in the
Eastern Conference.
The Bucks meet the Pacers in
Game two of their best-of-five,
first-round series Thursday
night.
“Having said that, getting it is
still nice... If you look at our organi
zation, we’re -- absolutely
headed in the right direction. As
tough as that loss to the Bucks was
for me and the players, it makes you
want it more now. It makes you put a
value on what it takes to get things
done.”
The Magic finished with a .500
record despite launching a
massive rebuilding project thit
began with the trading of four of
five starters from last year’s team,
including All-Star Penny
Hardaway.
Starting four players - Darrell
Armstrong, John Amaechi, Bo
Outlaw and Ben Wallace - who were
not drafted by any NBA team, Rivers
kept the Magic in coatention until
the final week with an up-tempo
style that relied on defensive pres
sure to create scoring opportunities.
Rivers, who played 13 seasons
for the Hawks, Clippers, Knicks
and Spurs before retiring in 1996 to
become a television analyst for
^ It’s gratifying
because of the
fact that people
undervalued
our players. I
didn’t mind them
undervaluing
me... But I did
mind them
undervaluing my
players.”
Doc Rivers
NBA coach of the year
Turner Sports, is the first coach in
league history to win the award with
out leading his team to the playoffs.
He’s the third to receive it with a
team that posted a record of .500 or
below, and the fifth to be recognized
after his first season, joining Harry
Gallatin (1962-63), Johnny Kerr
(1966-67), Mike Schuler (1986-87)
and Larry Bird (1997-98).
“It’s gratifying because of the
fact that people undervalued our
players. I didn’t mind them under
valuing me because I hadn’t
coached. But I did mind them under
valuing my players,” Rivers said. “I
had felt from day one that we had
better players than what everyone
thought we did. And I think by the
end of the season, that proved to be
true.” *
' Rivers received 60 votes from a
121-member panel to win by
seven votes over Phil Jackson, who
led the Los Angeles Lakers to the
league’s top record. They were fol
lowed in the balloting by Charlotte’s
Paul Silas (3), Utah’s Jerry Sloan (2)
and Miami’s Pat Riley.
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