Scott Skiles named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
By Joe Buckley
After leading the Orlando Magic to a 10-5 record in December, Scott Skiles has been named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
The NBA announced Monday that Orlando Magic head coach Scott Skiles has been awarded with the Coach of the Month honor for the Eastern Conference, with Gregg Poppovich taking the Western Conference version.
Skiles lead the Orlando Magic to a 10-5 record during December, not the conference’s best mark in that period, but enough to catapult the youthful Magic into the thick of the jungle of Eastern playoff standings from ninth and 10th, where they spent much of the previous month.
December included a five-game winning streak on the road, and the team finishing the month winning seven of its final nine games. Some of the best, and most enjoyable wins, of the year came within the period, invigorating a rabid fan base.
The Magic have not been this high in the standings this late into the season since Dwight Howard‘s departure, and the renewed vigor and interest around the team, and much of the praise for this deserves to go straight to Scott Skiles.
Faced with a youthful roster with no clear-cut stars, but all rapidly growing in talent, Skiles faced a tough job from the word go, getting everybody to buy in and get the ball to move enough.
Not only has the team flourished but previously forgotten players like Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson have been able to showcase their talents, while young upstarts Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja and Aaron Gordon are also surprising with what they bring to the party.
Skiles made a tough decision earlier in the season to bench young star Victor Oladipo in favor of Frye, a decision that could have turned fans against him early if it had come with different results. Thankfully, Oladipo excelled in his new role, sparking the Magic’s bench and in turn the entire team to their second straight month of playing better than .500 ball (for the first time in four years).
Personally, this is the fourth time Skiles has won the award, while it is the sixth time an Orlando Magic coach has won the award. The last time was nearly six years ago, with Stan Van Gundy, who the Magic will face tonight as they take on the Detroit Pistons.
Per the press release, during December, Orlando ranked first in the Eastern Conference in field goal percentage and steals, while they were second in opponents points per game and point differential. This type of stat was unimaginable at the beginning of the season, and that was before it was known how much better the Eastern Conference would be overall this year.
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This is due in no small part to Skiles and his staff, who have been able to mold this team into a dangerous threat in the East.