Doc Rivers named Western Conference Coach of the Month

With the best January record (11-3) in Los Angeles Clippers history, Doc Rivers has been named the NBA’s Western Conference Coach of the Month.

The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs did nothing new in January. They both kept cruising along to more and more victories and sit firmly atop the NBA power standings as the only two teams with 40 or more wins. So, when a new team surges forward, it’s not surprising to see their head coach gain some recognition. For January, that coach is Doc Rivers.

The Los Angeles Clippers have experienced their best spell of the 2015-16 season without Blake Griffin and their 11-3 record last month was their best January record in franchise history.

Given their adversity they’ve faced after being without a superstar for over a month now, it’s impressive what the Clippers have achieved. The low strength of most of their schedule aside, the other starters and the bench have risen to the occasion to keep the team moving. Chris Paul in particular always steps up whenever Griffin is injured, and this time has been no different.

Since Griffin’s injury, Paul has averaged 20.3 points, 10.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor. With no Blake, Paul has complete free reign over the offense which allows him to not only pick up an extra assist or two each night, but be more aggressive looking for his own shot and utilizing his stellar mid-range game.

More from Clipperholics

• Grade the trade: Clippers shockingly land Trae Young in wild proposal
• 3 of the most overpaid players on the LA Clippers’ roster
• Trading for this player covers the Clippers’ biggest weakness
• How will the LA Clippers fare in the in-season tournament?
• Why the LA Clippers should steer clear of recent gold medalist waiver

J.J. Redick has followed suit, racking up 17.9 points per game with remarkable shooting percentages of 50.2 percent overall and 52.3 percent from three.

As for the bench and the smaller lineups they’ve been using, the likes of Paul Pierce at power forward has helped them space the floor and keep the pace of their offense high as they’ve utilized perimeter shooting rather than the interior post play of Griffin.

As well as on-court adjustments, Jamal Crawford has said Doc Rivers has been instrumental to their recent play due to the way he’s helped rally the troops and help the team finish the month strong, referencing their pathetic 112-94 loss to the Raptors on January 24 (per Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com):

"“It all goes back to Doc,” Jamal Crawford said after the Clippers’ win against the Bulls to end the month. “He puts us in a position to be successful. We were so down after that Toronto game. For a month, that’s not who we’d been…and we’ve bounced back nice since then.”"

Next: Exclusive first look at Chris Paul's upcoming app

Now, the Clippers are faced with more issues due to Griffin’s off-court incident in Toronto that you’ll all have heard too much about already. Besides the extra 4-6 weeks he’ll miss due to breaking his right hand, a suspension of some kind is most likely on its way from the NBA which means the Clippers are going to be one superstar down for far longer than expected.