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The NBA announced on Thursday afternoon that Scott Brooks has been named Eastern Conference coach of the Month for February.
Washington posted an 8-4 record on the month, with key wins over the Raptors, Cavaliers, Bucks, and 76ers. They also came back from a 27 point deficit to beat the Knicks, the largest margin any team has overcome in a game this season. Three of the team’s four losses came on the second end of a back-to-back, with the only exception being their overtime loss to the Celtics.
Scott Brooks helped the @WashWizards rise up 2 spots in the conference standings in February after going 8-4, earning himself Eastern Conference Coach of the Month! His team was dishing dimes & picking pockets better than anyone else in the league with 29 AST and 9 STL per game. pic.twitter.com/egEMMgCYJN
— NBA Coaches Assoc. (@NBA_Coaches) March 1, 2018
Brooks isn’t a perfect coach, and even this month he’s made some questionable decisions with substitution patterns and late-game tactics. He probably won’t get serious consideration for Coach of the Year with all of the other compelling candidates out there, but there may not be a coach who’s done more in spite of his recent circumstances. He deserves a lot of credit for putting a system in place that’s allowed the team to play well in spite of John Wall’s absence and navigate through the drama which could have brought the team down near the trade deadline.