OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Thunder was 3-29 last season, the notion of the playoffs coming to Oklahoma City any time soon was unimaginable.
But it was that same miserable stretch that made general manager Sam Presti confident that coach Scott Brooks was the right man to lead his team into the future.
While Oklahoma City struggled to the worst start in the NBA, Presti was impressed by the way Brooks stayed the course. He has now taken the youngest roster in the league and turned the team into a 50-game winner and a playoff team just one season after the horrendous start.
For that best-in-the NBA turnaround, Brooks was recognized Wednesday as the NBA’s coach of the year. He received 71-of-123 first-place votes and 480 points to finish ahead of Milwaukee’s Scott Skiles (26 first-place votes, 313 points) and Portland’s Nate McMillan (nine, 107). Footnotes.
An MRI showed Portland starting forward Nicolas Batum has a strained right shoulder and he is questionable for tonight’s Game 3 of the first-round playoff series against Phoenix.
• Lakers forward Andrew Bynum (right Achilles tendon) is expected to be in the starting lineup tonight for Game 3 against the Thunder.
