The Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey and Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month for January. With each head coach earning the honors for the first time this season, the Raptors and Clippers both strung together excellent performances throughout the month.
While the Raptors finished the month of January with a 12-2 record, the Clippers managed a monthly mark of 11-3 themselves:
Dwane Casey and Doc Rivers were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively for games played in January.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 1, 2016
Casey has led his club to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference this season as the Raptors only trail the Cleveland Cavaliers in the standings. At 32-15 on the year, the team used their strong January to come within 2.5 games of LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Now leading the third-place Chicago Bulls by 5.5 games, the Raptors are currently on a franchise-record 11-game win streak and haven’t lost since Jan. 4 against Cleveland.
On the other hand, the Clippers have won four straight games of their own while tallying a 32-16 record on the season. Currently stuck in fourth place in the Western Conference, the club started the month of January with a five-game win streak to elongate their 10-game win streak that began on Christmas Day.
Despite Blake Griffin’s initial absence due to injury and now amid the All-Star forward’s recent mishap with a member of the team’s training staff, the Clippers have continued to play some of the best basketball in the league.