The Cavaliers continue to be one of the biggest surprises in the NBA. One of the reasons is their head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Bickerstaff was named the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in January.
This marks the first time Bickerstaff has earned Coach of the Month accolades and the 15th time in franchise history a coach has won the honor.
Bickerstaff led the Cavaliers to an 11-4 record in January, which was the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and the franchise’s best mark in a single month since November 2017 (12-3). Cleveland also had the best home record in the East, going 6-1 (.857) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and their five road wins were tied for the most in the conference.
Bickerstaff becomes the first Cavaliers coach to earn the coach of the month award since Tyronn Lue in October/November 2016. Bickerstaff has guided the Cavaliers to a 31-20 record on the season, the fourth-best mark in the Eastern Conference and the team’s best 51-game start since 2016-17 (36-15).
Phoenix Suns Head Coach Monty Williams earned the honor in the Western Conference Coach of the Month as he led the Suns to a 13-1 record in the month of January.
Currently, the Suns are on an 11-game winning streak after defeating the Nets Tuesday night.
