Clippings: Ty Lue doesn’t get respect (for NBA Coach of the Month)

The LA Clippers may possess the NBA’s best record coming out of Sunday’s win over the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, but whether it’s not enough visible coaching pizzazz, notable hand choreography on the sidelines, pithy quotes in the press conferences or plain old anti-Clippers bias, head coach Tyronn Lue was overlooked for NBA Coach of the Month for December/January. That honor instead went to the Utah Jazz’s Quin Snyder in the Western Conference.

Yes, that’s right, former Clippers head coach Doc Rivers picked up the Eastern Conference award.

Again, the Clippers have a better record than either of these teams (although obviously Lue’s not eligible for the Eastern Conference prize), and while Lue probably isn’t spending too much time thinking about this one and would rather win an NBA title, LA will just have to keep on bringing it if the new boss is to get some plaudits for the stellar record so far this season.

More news for your Tuesday:

• Events at the All-Star Game? There seems to be growing support to actually hold an All-Star Game this season, although I imagine the testing and contact tracing procedures will be a nightmare. The New York Times’ Marc Stein reports there’s also proposals to make sure the 3-point Contest and Dunk Contest make it into the pared-back celebration.

• Kawhi should be top MVP candidate: The field is wide open so far this season for NBA MVP, and Hoops Habit argues Kawhi Leonard should be the frontrunner.
• Dream Clippers lineup: Meanwhile, SI.com puts Joel Embiid at the head of the MVP sweepstakes, but in their fake first quarter awards, puts one Clippers lineup as the best that never plays together around the league.
• Jokic also an MVP frontrunner: Ok, I won’t drag this joke out too far (you can find “LeBron is the MVP frontrunner!” and “Doncic is actually the MVP” articles easily, too), but The Ringer argues in fact, it’s Nikola Jokic who is the MVP frontrunner.
• Lou Williams’ slow start by design? This column from Joe Vardon at The Athletic includes the nugget the Clippers are limiting Lou Williams so far this season to keep him ready for the playoffs. Vardon even seems to take that with a grain of salt, but we’ll see.
• Lillard really expanding 3-point range: We’ve seen Steph Curry hit shots from way downtown, but fresh off another stunning performance, SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell highlights Dame Lillard’s ability to hit a 3 from anywhere in the half-court.