The Washington Wizards are fighting their way back into playoff contention and some of that credit has to go to Coach Scott Brooks. His contribution to the team’s latest success has been recognized by the NBA who named Brooks Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in April.
Brooks has led the Wizards to a 12-5 record during the month of April, which included an eight-game winning streak from April 12-25 (marking the team’s longest winning streak since December 2001).
The twelve wins were the most in the East during the month, and their six road wins (6-3) marked the second most in the conference. The 12 wins also were the most wins in a month by the Wizards since January 2017.
The Wizards finished the month averaging 116.4 points per game, while shooting .490 from the field. Washington led the Eastern Conference in defensive rating (108.0) and held their opponents to .332 shooting from three-point range.
Washington went 12-2 (.857) in its final 14 games of the month after April 7, the best winning percentage in the league. In that timeframe, the Wizards led the league in points per game (121.4), field goal percentage (.504) and points in the paint per game (60.1), shooting at least 50% from the field in nine of 14 games.
Under Brooks’ guidance, Russell Westbrook set the NBA record for most triple-doubles in a month with 14, while posting a double-double in all 17 games. Bradley Beal averaged 30.3 points per game during the month, with the team posting a 12-1mark in games he played.
Washington completed their longest road trip of the season with a 4-2 record, which took the team to Florida (Raptors in Tampa and Orlando Magic) before heading out west. Wins included a down-the-stretch victory over the Warriors at Golden State (4/9), snapping Utah’s 24-game home winning streak (4/12), and concluding the trip with a win in Sacramento over the Kings (4/14), improving their record on the west coast portion of the trip to 3-1.
Following the trip, the Wizards returned home to reel off four more victories, including an OT win over New Orleans (4/16), and wins over Detroit (4/17), Oklahoma City (4/19), and Golden State (4/21).
In the victory over Golden State, the Wizards snapped Stephen Curry’s streak of 32+ points by holding him to 18 points. The Wizards closed out the month by winning four of their last five games, including a nationally-televised victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Capital One Arena (4/28).
This marks the fifth time Brooks has won the award in his career, and his second time as coach of the Wizards (January 2017).
Fans have been quick to criticize Brooks but the fact that he has turned this team around should be recognized.