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How Kenny Atkinson became third Cavs coach to earn distinct honor
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The NBA officially named Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February on Tuesday, marking the third time in his career that he's won the award and the first time he's earned the honor this season. Atkinson is only the third coach in Cavs franchise history to accomplish the feat, joining Mike Brown and the late, great Lenny Wilkens.
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Cleveland put together an 8-3 stretch last month with a league-leading scoring average of 120.9 points per game and the top field-goal percentage (49.8%). It averaged the third-most assists per contest (28.9) as well.
That coincided with the incredible dominance of Jarrett Allen and trade deadline acquisitions of James Harden , Keon Ellis , and Dennis Schroder .
"Bringing James on has given us renewed confidence, if that makes sense," Atkinson said. "We understand we're a better team and that spirit, that confidence, for some strange reason makes you play harder and compete harder and compete harder defensively, and I felt like we were kind of missing that, that edge, that belief. So I feel like we're regaining that."
Three of the team's four lowest opponent-scoring totals were recorded in February, against the New York Knicks (94) and the Los Angeles Clippers (91), and the wine and gold held the Brooklyn Nets to a season-low 84 points at Rocket Arena.
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Offensively, Cleveland put up at least 130 points three times last month, which tied for second in the East. Its average margin of victory was 10.9 points, ranking third in the conference. Additionally, from Feb. 1-20, the Cavs went undefeated and recorded five straight road wins, even with the All-Star Break interrupting.
Atkinson won NBA Coach of the Month twice last year, with recognition for October/November 2024 and December 2024. In order to catch Brown's leading total of five with the Cavs, he'll have to win it two more times.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson won the award to represent the Western Conference.
The Cavs are already off to a solid start in March despite the nagging injuries that have followed them throughout the campaign. They've earned the next four days off before welcoming in the Boston Celtics to town on Sunday afternoon.
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