BOSTON -- Celtics coach Doc Rivers was named the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the month of November, which didn’t come as a surprise to any of the Celtics.

“He understands how to manage who we are as players and at the same time he makes sure he gets the best out of us,” Boston guard Ray Allen said.

“He makes sure that we get the proper rest but at the same time he knows how to push buttons. He has a perfect balance of it all.”

“He just expects the best out of his players,” Boston forward Kendrick Perkins said. “He knows how to put each player in the right position to get the best out of him. He knows the game. Doc is a real film guy. He breaks it down and he has helped me so much since I’ve gotten here.”

The Marquette graduate guided the Celtics to a 16-2 record during October and November thanks in part to a six- and eight-game winning streak.

Rivers is just the third coach since the awards inception (during the 1981-82 season) to have won the award for three straight months. He joins Flip Saunders (2005-06 Detroit Pistons) and Larry Brown (2002-03 Philadelphia 76ers) as the only other coaches to have achieved this feat. Boston won 11 of 12 games against teams that had a record of .500 or better on game day.

“Whenever you win anything like that you know that it had a lot to do with a lot of other people, not just you,” Rivers said. “I have an unbelievable coaching staff and I have some pretty good players too and [the award] usually means that month that your players make shots and they got stops more than the other teams.”

“It’s the Ubuntu philosophy — we are all tied to each other,” Rivers added. “If one guy is successful, the next guy is successful and the next guy is successful and it spreads.”

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy has been impressed with Rivers. “He won a championship last year,” Van Gundy said.

“He did a great job.”

roblee@projo.com