Mike D’Antoni named Western Conference Coach of the Month for February

Small ball is paying off. Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was just named Western Conference Coach of the Month after his squad went 9-2 on the back of the new philosophy.

At the beginning of the month, the Rockets traded away Clint Capela for forward Robert Covington and fully embraced Pocket Rockets, a style D’Antoni is comfortable coaching, and thus far, teams have struggled to find an answer. In February, Houston has beaten the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics twice, and went 1-1 against the Utah Jazz, losing only on a last-minute buzzer beater.

D’Antoni also deserves credit for helping Russell Westbrook get more acclimated and building the team’s style around his strengths while still getting a monster season out of James Harden.

Earlier this year, there were some questions about whether D’Antoni would return following this season. While those questions have yet to be fully answered, if the Rockets are going to truly embrace this philosophy beyond one year, what other guys are out there who are better fits to coach this group than D’Antoni? He’s won a ton since he came aboard.

Congrats to coach D’Antoni for bringing home the award!