Will coach Spo make it?

-SPORTING CHANCE By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star)-

Who will coach the East in the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 26 in Orlando? Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks will call the shots for the West as the Thunder is clearly on top of the conference with a 21-6 record but the race in the East is a dogfight.

At the moment, Chicago is slightly ahead of Miami with a 23-7 record in the East. The Heat is 22-7. Both teams play separate opponents this morning (Manila time). The Bulls host the Sacramento Kings while the Heat is on the road against Indiana. If Chicago and Miami win, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau gets the All-Star job only because of a quirk in the shortened season schedule – the Heat plays one game less before the Feb. 15 cut-off to determine conference leaders. Twin wins would improve the Bulls’ record to 24-7 and the Heat’s mark to 23-7. If the teams were tied, Miami would prevail in a tiebreak for beating Chicago, 97-93, last Jan. 29.

If the Bulls lose to the Kings and Miami beats the Pacers, then Heat coach Erik Spoelstra goes to Orlando. That would mean the Bulls falling to 23-8 and Miami improving to 23-7. A Miami loss to Indiana will send Thibodeau instead even if the Bulls bow to Sacramento.

For the record, Chicago is 9-1 at home so far this season and Miami is 10-5 on the road. The Heat kept Spoelstra’s All-Star hopes alive with a 114-96 road victory over Milwaukee yesterday. That was Miami’s third win in a row.

Thibodeau, 54, was with the coaching staff of Boston, Minnesota, San Antonio, Philadelphia, New York, Houston and Seattle before moving to Chicago last season. He was named Coach of the Year for steering the Bulls to a 62-20 record but Chicago lost to Miami, 4-1, in the Eastern Conference playoff finals. Spoelstra was on the opposite bench when the Bulls made their exit.

It’s not certain if reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose will play for Chicago against Sacramento as he is day-to-day with a back muscle ailment. The Kings, however, shouldn’t be much of a problem. They’re 10-17 and in last place in the Pacific Division.

Spoelstra, 41, is on his fourth year with the Heat. Unlike Thibodeau, he has not worked with any other NBA team and started his career at Miami as a video coordinator in 1995. The Heat has progressed with Spoelstra every year under his watch. He took over a 15-67 squad from Pat Riley and turned it into a 43-39 contender as a rookie head coach in 2008-09. Then, Spoelstra improved the slate to 47-35 to 58-24. Last season Spoelstra brought Miami to the NBA finals but the Heat lost to Dallas in six games. The only Heat coach to call the shots in an NBA All-Star Game was Stan Van Gundy in 2005.

Under NBA rules governing the All-Star Game, a player replacement due to injury will be made by Commissioner David Stern but a starter replacement, also due to injury, is up to the coach.

In the fans poll, voted to make up the East first five were LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Rose, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony. Coaches in the East voted for the reserves – they were not allowed to vote for their own players. The limitation was to vote for two guards, two forwards, a center and two players of any position. Chosen as the East reserves were Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Andre Iguodala, Deron Williams, Roy Hibbert, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng. The All-Star Game first-timers are Deng, Iguodala and Hibbert.

Rose may or may not play, the same with Anthony who has a right groin injury. If both are replaced or even if one of them is, Stern will name the replacement. Waiting in the wings are Brandon Jennings, Amare Stoudemire, Rajan Rondo, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Garnett and Josh Smith. If a starter is replaced, the coach can choose from anyone in the roster to open the game. That means if Spoelstra makes it, he could start with the Heat’s Big Three of James, Wade and Bosh – assuming Rose or Anthony or both won’t play.

In the West, the fans voted Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and Andrew Bynum to start. Coaches picked Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Marc Gasol, Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki as reserves. Missing in the cast are Tim Duncan, Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. The All-Star Game first-timers are Bynum, Aldridge and Gasol.

For Filpino fans, the sentimental choice to coach the East is Spoelstra who has been a consistent Manila visitor the last three summers.  Spoelstra, a Fil-Am whose mother Elisa Celino is from San Pablo, is the NBA’s ambassador for its Fit Program. But for Spoelstra to become the first-ever All-Star Game coach with Filipino roots, Chicago must lose to Sacramento and Miami must win its fourth in a row over Indiana on the road today – the odds are against it but nothing is impossible.