Atlanta Hawks: Lloyd Pierce is a Great Leader in his First Season

Lloyd Pierce has been an excellent head coach for the Atlanta Hawks in his first year on the job.

As a leader, Lloyd Pierce, the first-year head coach of the Atlanta Hawks has gotten the absolute most out of a team that many believed to be among the worst in the NBA. Sure, at the end of the day, they’ll finish with the fifth-worst record in the league, but they were far, far more competitive than most of the tank-tastic teams around them.

Knicks? A dumpster fire. Suns? Goats pooped in their offices. Cavs? One of the worst defenses in NBA history. Not to slander, but while the Atlanta Hawks lost a lot of games this year, the coaching job that LP has done deserves to be lauded.

Now, fast-forward a few years into the future and think about what sort of performances Pierce will be able to get out of players that, one would expect, would be more talented than this ragtag collection of players on this Atlanta Hawks roster. Though they’re lovable, there’s no question that an influx of talent needs to take place – as well as the continued development of its youngsters – before this team can take it to the next level.

One main indicator of Pierce’s effective coaching strategy was the team’s recent game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Though the Atlanta Hawks were without their two best players, John Collins and Trae Young, they still competed all night and the entire team was motivated, locked in and engaged with the outcome of this contest.

Alex Len, a player that many might have thought was a bust after five middling seasons in Phoenix, recently dropped a career-high 33 points on the Bucks, and he did mostly by driving right by terrific rim protector Brook Lopez and then yamming all over everyone.

Earlier this season, it’s doubtful that Len would’ve been confident to produce such a dunk-filled performance, but with an entire season of Pierce coaching him up and instilling the right values and boundless confidence, Len was able to produce an amazing showing in the Hawks’ penultimate game of the season.

This offseason will likely bring a huge amount of change to the Atlanta Hawks organization, but one thing’s for sure: Its players are in good hands with Coach Pierce leading them.