The Atlanta Hawks have changed course with removing their head coach Lloyd Pierce and replacing him with Nate McMillan. As with any coaching change, this is going to benefit some players and be detrimental to others.
One player who should benefit from the appointment of McMillan to the interim role is Kevin Huerter. Of all the players on the Hawks team, Huerter is the one who plays the most like McMillan and thus should see his role increase.
In his 12 year career, McMillan never averaged 10.0 points per game or more. He certainly had the talent to do so but what he did do was give the team what it needed every night he played. McMillan was good enough to lead the NBA in steals one year.
How is the appointment of Nate McMillan going to help Kevin Huerter?
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Huerter is a tremendous spare parts player who is always going to do well under a coach who understands how Huerter plays. He is a true glue guy who does not appear to put too much store in his own numbers, sacrificing his game to give the team what it needs.
He has three double-doubles on the season. Two of them are with points and assists and one of them is points and rebounds. He is always looking for ways to impact the game If we look at the breakdown of his games and what numbers he has put up we are able to find examples of this.
This season Huerter has 24 games where he has scored 10 or more points, four of these are 20 points or greater. Huerter has 13 games where he has collected five or more rebounds, seven games where he has five assists or more, and five games with three or more steals.
Huerter can and does, do a little bit of everything, and under the tutelage of McMillan he may blossom into one of the greatest role players in the history of the Atlanta Hawks