CLEVELAND — Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff has been named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January.
This is his first time winning the award after leading the team to an 11-4 record, which was Cleveland's best mark in a single month since November 2017.
It was the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland also had the best home record in the East, going 6-1 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and their five road wins were tied for the most in the conference.
In January, the Cavaliers surrendered only 101.9 points per game and were able to limit other teams to under 100 points six times.
Cleveland ranked second in the East in defensive field goal percentage (.439) and opponent assists per game (21.6) while ranking third in defensive rating (107.4) and fourth in opponent defensive rebounds per game (31.9).
The Cavaliers scored at least 100 points five times in January.
Bickerstaff is the first Cavaliers coach to earn the coach of the month award since Tyronn Lue in October and November 2016.
Bickerstaff has led the Cavaliers to a 31-20 record on the season, which is the fourth-best 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.
