With the Pacers' win over the Kings Tuesday night, Indiana coach Frank Vogel clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference over any other eligible coach through February 2nd, and as a result, Vogel will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the All-Star Game next month.
At 30-7, the Pacers have a 10.5 game lead over Toronto. The Heat are just three games back, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is ineligible after coaching the team last year. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is also ineligible.
It's a sign of both how awful the Eastern Conference is, and how great the Pacers have been out of the gate. After stumbling to start the year before recovering last season, the Pacers stormed out of the gate this year, and have been one of the bigger stories of the season as the pursue homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
We took a look at Vogel's chances at Coach of the Year in Baseline Awards this week. The NBA All-Star starters are set to be announced January 20th.
