The Detroit Pistons’ Flip Saunders and the Houston Rockets’ Rick Adelman today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.
Saunders guided the Pistons to a 9-3 (.750) month, which included wins over a trio of top Western Conference teams – Dallas, Phoenix and Denver. The Pistons recorded a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the month, dishing out 20-plus assists in nine of 12 games and committing less than 15 turnovers in all 12 contests. The Pistons outscored their February opponents by 9.5 ppg. In a 90-67 win over Dallas on Feb.3, the Pistons held the Mavericks to 23 field goals. In a 116-86 win at Phoenix on Feb. 24, the Pistons recorded 26 assists on a season-high-tying 46 field goals.
Adelman led the Rockets to a perfect 13-0 record in February, marking the second time in team history that Houston recorded an undefeated month (14-0 in Nov. 1993). The Rockets are currently riding an NBA season long 15-game winning streak. The streak, which began on Jan. 29, ties the Rockets’ franchise record which occurred twice before (1992-93 and 1993-94). Houston outscored its February opponents by 12.6 ppg, while limiting them to a .414 field goal percentage.
Other nominees for the Coach of the Month were Boston’s Doc Rivers, Cleveland’s Mike Brown, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Phil Jackson, Philadelphia’s Maurice Cheeks, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Utah’s Jerry Sloan.
