Utah Jazz: Jerry Sloan won't win (again), but someone will win the top coach, rookie and 6th man

SALT LAKE CITY — Jerry Sloan has earned millions of dollars, achieved unparalleled job stability and has even been elected to basketball's Hall of Fame for coaching the Utah Jazz for more than two straight decades.

But, as is pointed out at the close of every regular season, Sloan has never won the NBA's official Coach of the Year Award.

So will the 22nd time be the charm?

Well, to put it bluntly, no.

Sure, the Jazz have won 50 games again and are still in the thick of the hunt for a division title as well as the No. 2 playoff seed in the loaded Western Conference. Sloan's coaching and Utah's offensive efficiency get praised by virtually every opposing coach in the league when they come through EnergySolutions Arena. This year the Jazz have played well despite numerous injuries and a mid-year trade of the team's starting shooting guard for no immediate help.

But it won't matter when the votes are tabulated.

Sloan simply won't be recognized because the Jazz are seen as too well-oiled of a machine. Utah's consistency over the years makes it far too easy for voters to overlook what Sloan has done with what he's been given.

Instead, the award usually goes to the coach who leads a previously bad team to respectability.

That will happen again this season. Most NBA observers feel the Coach of the Year honor is a two-man race between a couple of guys named Scott who have led their clubs to the playoffs after a long absence — Scott Brooks of Oklahoma City, which last went to the postseason as the Seattle SuperSonics, and Scott Skiles of Milwaukee.

With just a handful of games remaining for each team, here is a look as the top candidates and a predicted winner for the Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year awards:

COACH OF THE YEAR

Perhaps nobody should actually want this one. Three of the past four — Byron Scott of New Orleans, Sam Mitchell of Toronto and Avery Johnson of Dallas — have already been axed. Last year's winner, Cleveland's Mike Brown, is having another successful season, but if LeBron James leaves as a free agent during the offseason as many expect, Brown's job won't be so cushy or safe a year from now.