Mitch Johnson's doubters look more ridiculous by the day after Spurs' hot start

In the NFL, there are constant arguments over whether winning should be considered a quarterback stat (I know, it's dumb, but stay with me). I think the real question should be whether winning is a coaching stat. Coaches are the ones who set the culture, and without a strong one, you're usually going to see a lot of losing. The same can be said about the NBA, and the Spurs are showing you why.

It can be difficult to pinpoint who to praise at times when everyone is healthy, and you have a star. The franchise player's usage rate is always extremely high, so, like the quarterback, everyone wants to give them all the credit. But what happens when your go-to guy is less than 100%, having an off-game, or just out altogether? That's when you really get to see how special the staff is.

Mitch Johnson should be getting more Coach of the Year buzz

I don't know how much San Antonio's newly minted head coach cares about winning personal end-of-the-season trophies. If he's like his predecessor, that will rarely even cross his mind. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it. Unfortunately, FanDuel doesn't seem to share my opinion.

Coach Johnson had the fifth-highest odds to win COY in the offseason at +1000. I thought that was a fair and exciting spot for him to start the year. You'd think that, after how the Spurs have begun this season, he'd have moved up, but that's not the case. He's dropped to sixth with +1100 odds.

What's even more insane is that when you look at the top five coaches on the list from August and now, you'll see that they changed all four of the coaches ahead of him, moving an entirely new group of five into their place.

In August, the coaches were listed in order: Jamahl Mosley (Magic), Quin Snyder (Hawks), Ime Udoka (Rockets), and David Adelman (Nuggets). Ahead of Mitch now, we have JB Bickerstaff (Pistons), Darko Rajakovic (Raptors), Mark Naigneault (Thunder), Erik Spoelstra (Heat), and JJ Redick (Lakers). I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's a conspiracy against San Antonio, but I don't like how we're being treated here.

Now that we're seeing Mitch Johnson with full control of the team, and they're succeeding, it seems silly that he was ever doubted in the first place. Gregg Popovich has the most successful coaching tree in the history of the sport. His branches have won multiple Coach of the Year awards and won championships. To think that he wouldn't leave the organization he helped build for over 30 years in good hands is absurd.

However, the fact of the matter is that he was doubted. The team was doubted. They're overachieving, and if they maintain their pace, they'll win more than 55 games. They won 34 last year. Not having Mitch Johnson in the top three for Coach of the Year is a travesty. One can only hope that the powers that be will make the right decision if the Spurs finish the year as they began it.