Erik Spolestra (Miami Heat, Eastern Conference) and Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors, Western Conference) won the NBA’s February Coach of the Month Award.
In other Los Angeles Lakers news, despite his questionable image, head coach Darvin Ham has been chosen a finalist.
Ham led Los Angeles to a 9-3 record in February, defeating the Celtics, Knicks, Pelicans, and Clippers. While his month was pretty spectacular, Kerr led the Warriors to an 11-3 record, which earned him the honor.
Ham has made significant progress this season, identifying strong rotational combinations, including a 9-3 starting lineup, as well as finding methods to be competitive when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are not on the court.
He still leaves a lot to be desired, with his blunder that likely lost LA the game against Denver on Saturday night being the most recent in fans’ memories, in which he benched D’Angelo Russell in favor of Cam Reddish down the stretch of the fourth quarter.
Going forward, Ham, who is only in his second year as head coach, should continue to sort things out. With LeBron James leading the way, the arrow should point up for his performance, which has been widely criticized thus far. Entering the season’s home stretch, however, considering how LA’s offense has looked, it would not be surprising if they pulled together a run similar to last year.
