Coach Joerger Earns First Career Coach of the Month Award
MEMPHIS, TN – The NBA today announced Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach Dave Joerger as the Western Conference Coach of the Month for January. This marks the first career Coach of the Month honor for Coach Joerger.
Coach Joerger, who is the youngest coach to win the Western Conference Coach of the Month award since Monty Williams in January, 2011, guided Memphis to an NBA-best 12-3 record (.800) during the month of January, as the Grizzlies won five consecutive games and nine of its last 10 to close out the month. Memphis tied its franchise record for January wins and finished just one victory shy of the franchise record for wins in any month (13 in March 2004 and April 2012).
The Grizzlies won five consecutive games twice during the month (Jan. 10-17, Jan. 24-31), with multiple wins during those stretches coming against the Western Conference’s top teams. Memphis limited Oklahoma City to 87 points in a Jan. 14 victory, then swept a back-to-back, home-and-home series against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 24-25, becoming the first team to hold Houston to below 35 paint points this season on Jan. 24. Memphis followed with a trip to Portland, holding the Trail Blazers’ league-leading scoring offense to a season-low 81 points on just .345 shooting in a 98-81 road victory.
Memphis also won six consecutive road games from Jan. 5-31, the second-longest road winning streak in franchise history. The Grizzlies held all six opponents to 90 points or fewer, including allowing just 77 points on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 15 in the second game of a back-to-back. Memphis is 13-7 on the road this season, the fourth-best road record in the NBA.
Under Coach Joerger, Memphis emerged as one of the stingier defenses in the month of January, holding opponents to 91.5 points per game on just .431 shooting from the field and .311 shooting from behind the arc. After the return of Marc Gasol from injury on Jan. 14, Memphis held opponents to a league-low 86.3 points per game while sporting the NBA’s best defensive rating at 97.3 during the nine-game stretch to close out the month of January.
Memphis will seek its seventh consecutive win – and seventh consecutive road win – tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m.
Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies and purchase 2013-14 Season Tickets can do so by calling (901) 888-HOOP or going online to grizzlies.com. Season Tickets start at $11 per game. For more information on the Grizzlies, please visit grizzlies.com, ‘like’ Memphis Grizzlies on Facebook or follow on Twitter (@memgrizz).