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Frank Vogel Wins Eastern Conference Coach of the Month Award for February

By Jared Wade

January 7, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel instructs against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 7, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel instructs against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The red-hot Indiana Pacers blew the doors off the coldest month, going 7-2 in February — the best record in the NBA — while shooting better than any other team. In recognition of this dominance, the league gave Frank Vogel the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month Award for February.

The ever-humble Vogel of course wants everyone to know that he didn’t win all 7 of these games by hisself.

“Coach of the Month is always a team award,” said Vogel. “It’s indicative of team success. It’s nice recognition for our players who didn’t quit through a lot of adversity. We still have a lot of work to do, but I’m looking forward to seeing what this group can accomplish.”

This has been quite the month for Vogel.

In addition to taking his team from 12th place to 8th place in just 28 days, he also became the winningest coach in the franchise’s NBA history by racking up his 191st win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He surpassed Larry Brown, and did so in just three normal-length seasons, one-lockout-shortened year, and the final bit of Jim O’Brien’s final season after Vogel’s mentor was canned mid-year. (Slick Leonard, who oversaw the Pacers ABA dynasty, still holds the franchise record for wins with 529.)

As for February, William Furr broke down some of the other impressive numbers for the team during the month.

"The offense has been scorching hot, with the team putting up 107.2 points per 100 possessions (5th best in the NBA in February) on 47.2% shooting (1st) and 40.3% from 3-point range (3rd). Their resulting effective field goal percentage was 52.3% (3rd), and the Pacers also kept their turnover rate was down (to 13.1%, 5th)Rodney Stuckey is averaging 19 points per game since February 8. He is a monster and probably deserves to win the NBA MVP this season.The Hometown Hero George Hill just got his first career triple double, and his minutes restriction has been lifted. He put up 17.4 points per 36 minutes in February while hitting 40.3% of his 3-pointers. He also brought a boat load of clutch play and professional savvy that helped Indiana win games late that they have been losing all year. When he is on the court this season, the Pacers are 8.1 points per 100 possessions better.David West shot 50.5% for the month. He didn’t light up the scoreboard, points-wise, but he averaged 12.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per month. These are easily his best shooting and rebounding numbers of any month this year, and this was also his highest assist month. He shot particularly well from 16 feet and beyond, hitting 54.5% of those shots in February. A lot of this is because Hill is back. The two are running the pick-and-roll together brilliantly again at times, and Hill assisted on 21 of West’s 49 made shots over these nine games."

Next: Roy Hibbert's MONSTER Blocks vs. the 76ers

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