Jordan Ott wins Western Conference Coach of the Month for Suns’ plucky January

First-year head coach Jordan Ott was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month on Tuesday after his Phoenix Suns went 11-5 during January.

That included a 3-2 mark without star Devin Booker; a victory over the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (39-11) on Jan. 4; and wins over four of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference, three of which came on the road.

Phoenix led the NBA with a defensive rating of 108.1 in January.

The last Suns coach to win the monthly honor was Monty Williams in November 2022.

The Suns are 30-20 overall heading into their game Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, and that’s good enough to be No. 7 in the conference, straddling the line to avoid the play-in tournament if the postseason were to begin today.

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