The Philadelphia 76ers’ Doug Collins and the Dallas Mavericks’ Rick Carlisle today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.
Collins led the 76ers to a 9-3 record on the month, including a 77-71 win over the San Antonio Spurs, owners of the league’s best record at 49-10. Under Collins, Philadelphia posted a winning percentage of .750 in February, the highest winning percentage for the Sixers in a single month since going 8-2 in February 2003. They outscored their opponents by 8.3 ppg and five of their nine victories were by double-digits. The Sixers capped off the month with four straight victories, their longest winning streak of the season.
Carlisle guided the Mavericks to an 11-1 record for February, the best record for any team on the month. Winners of 16 of their last 17, the Mavericks played nine of their 12 games on the road. On Feb. 4, the Mavericks completed a season sweep of the Boston Celtics, defeating them by a score of 101-97. They rounded out the month by overcoming a 19-point deficit to knock off the Raptors 114-96 on Feb. 27.
Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau, Indiana’s Frank Vogel, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.
