Kidd Leads Nets to Record-Setting January

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd has been named the NBA's Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January after leading the Nets to a 10-3 record, the league announced today.

This marks the first Coach of the Month honor for Kidd in his first season as a head coach. The Nets' 10-3 (.769) record in January marked the best winning percentage for the month of January in the franchise's 38 NBA seasons.

However, it was not too long ago, that some thought Kidd should be fired.

Let's take a walk back. At the start of the NBA season, many were critical of the Brooklyn Nets management for hiring Jason Kidd as an NBA head coach. After all, he had just retired as a player from the New York Knicks only a few weeks prior to the head coach announcement.
Kidd lacked experience said his detractors.

As the regular season got into full swing and the Brooklyn Nets went on a downward spiral losing game after game, the naysayers amplified the chatter for the firing of the rookie coach.

With the Nets on a losing streak and many calling for the proverbial hammer to come down, Kidd made a decisive turn in early December; he demoted his primary assistant, Lawrence Frank, by "reassigning" him to report-filing duties.

The Nets fortunes didn't turn around on a dime and the team continued to experience misfortunes in December.

Center Brook Lopez broke his foot in December. There was also the embarrassing 95-78 Christmas Day loss to the Chicago Bulls.

On December 31, The Nets left the court early during a blowout loss to the Spurs on December 31, forcing Kidd to take a timeout so that he could retrieve them from the locker room.

With a new year, often come new resolutions; and the Brooklyn Nets as a team must have decided to resolve to win in the new year.

The Nets strung together two five-game winning streaks under the first year head coach's guidance and held nine of their 13 opponents under 100 points, resulting in eight victories. Brooklyn also won four of five road games in January, including a buzzer-beating victory to begin the month at Oklahoma City January 2.

Kidd, who won NBA Player of the Month honors twice as a member of the Nets (November 2001 and December 2002) and once as a member of the Phoenix Suns (April 1999) becomes the fourth person in NBA history to win both coach and player of the month honors, joining Larry Bird, Larry Drew, and Jeff Hornacek. Kidd also becomes the second person to win both honors with the same franchise, joining Hornacek, who captured both honors with the Suns, including Coach of the Month in December 2013.

Kidd becomes the fourth head coach in franchise history to earn Coach of the Month honors, joining Avery Johnson (November 2012), four-time winner Lawrence Frank (February 2004, April 2005, March 2006 and April 2007) and two-time winner Byron Scott (December 2002 and December 2003).

Speaking of Avery Johnson, even though he won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month in November 2012, Nets management lost patience with the team's struggles and fired Johnson the following month in December 2012.

Stephen Curry wins the NBA MVP Award for the second consecutive year; is Sam Bradford delusional; Frank Vogel still looking for an opportunity to coach

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about:

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry wins the NBA MVP Award for the second consecutive year and the first player to win with a unanimous vote
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wins NBA Coach of the Year award
The Indiana Pacers decided not to renew head coach Frank Vogel's contract
The Memphis Grizzlies fire Dave Joerger and the Sacramento Kings hires Joerger and pays him more money
The Houston Rockets are still searching for a head coach
The NFL issues a warning about eating meat in foreign countries
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton gets the Los Angeles Lakers head coach position
Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott says he was blindsided by the Lakers’ firing
Miami Heat center Chris Bosh won’t be with the Miami Heat during its playoff run, as Bosh is out for the season because of continuing issues with blood clots
Caitlin Jenner will pose nude for the cover of Sports Illustrated

Additional in-depth conversations focus on: Cardale Jones, Eli Apple, Sam Bradford, Laremy Tunsil, the Penn State scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, and Joe Paterno.

The NY Sports Report focuses on the Brooklyn Nets introduction of its new head coach Kenny Atkinson, which should be imminent since the Atlanta Hawks’ playoff run has come to an end and ending Atkinson's assistant coaching duties.

The New York Knicks is still leaving fans and the media in the dark regarding its head coach for next season. It’s been rumored that former Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel or his agent may have spoken with Steve Mills, executive vice president and general manager of the New York Knicks, and not Knicks president, Phil Jackson. This rumor has left many Knicks fans to worry that Jackson is going to keep Kurt Rambis as the Knicks head coach.

VIDEO: Is Kobe Bryant delusional about the Lakers playoff chances, or, does Kobe know something that the rest of the world doesn't?

Oddly enough, Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant is in a story that is Flying Under The Radar. In a phone interview with yahoo.com (Yahoo Sports), Bryant believes that his Lakers team can make the playoffs this season.

In defense of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles did make some post-season moves to help the team in Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert, and D'Angelo Russell.

Also, Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Byron Scott is no slouch.