Atlanta Hawks: 3 Takeaways from Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals
Takeaway from Atlanta Hawks Game 1 win No.3: Nate McMilla has done a magnificent job at the helm
Nate McMillan needs to have the ‘interim’ tag removed expeditiously. Full Stop. The job he’s done taking this team from six games below .500 to three wins away from it’s first NBA Finals since 1961 cannot be overstated. But we won’t get too far ahead, there’s far too much basketball left for that and the Bucks won’t be rolling over.
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Besides, McMillan did a heck of a job in the opening act of the Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s his first time beyond the second round as a coach so this is a case of someone learning and teaching on the fly.
Juxtapose that to his counterpart in Mike Budenholzer who’s ability to “draw one up” might come into question following the ending of this one. Never forget Head coach and Vice President of Basketball Operations Budenholzer stepped down from both positions with the Hawks back in 2017.
Don’t think that’s lost on the Hawks.
McMillan also keeps dialing up the right subs, tabbing Solomon Hill in this one. Hill hadn’t played double-digit minutes since Game 5 against Philadelphia. He logged a little over 20 minutes on Wednesday night.
He only score four points but he gave McMillan good minutes and played good defense while picking up just two personal fouls.
His play was huge because McMillan also kept Bogdan Bogdanovic active despite his clearly being limited by his knee injury. Bogdanovic would finish with four points and an awful shooting percentage. But he had three steals and made several smart plays with the ball.
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McMillan showed faith in both and they rewarded him. His calm demeanor no matter the situation shows as this team almost plays better when they’re behind the eight-ball.