Grading Atlanta Hawks HC Nate McMillan’s performance
The Atlanta Hawks have benefitted tremendously from the steady hand of Nate McMillan. They rolled into the All-Star break on the right note with a two-game winning streak capped off with a 130-109 romp over the Orlando Magic. They are two games below .500 at 28-30, which is less than ideal. But they will have one of the easiest slates in the NBA when they return to action.
That’s going to come after a veritable gantlet of contenders right out of the gate. But, thanks to McMillan, this team should be weathered enough to withstand the onslaught.
To that end, the Hawks have already dealt with even more chaos this year than to the same point last season. The havoc that COVID wreaked on this roster was unseen across the rest of the league and could have very well bruised this season.
It could be argued that it should have.
Nate McMillan’s steady hand has been perfect for the Atlanta Hawks this season
We’ve mentioned it many times over, but the Hawks at one point boasted a 26-man roster thanks to having so many players in health and safety protocols. Players like forwards Chaundee Brown and Wes Iwundu made starts, to put it into further context. It took them 47 games to get completely healthy for the first time in the season.
Throughout all of that, McMillan was steady in his messaging of guys needing to buy in on both ends and of the importance of their defense.
He would specifically note how the effort on that end would wane on poor offensive nights.
Those sentiments were echoed at various points thought the early portions of the campaign by John Collins and Trae Young. Danilo Gallinari spoke of roles being more defined last season. And recently Clint Capela spoke of the team taking the wrong approach into the season.
The team did trade Cam Reddish to alleviate some of those issues.
All of that though, along with the reality that last year guaranteed nothing, has been a part of McMillan’s message to the media that he is relaying to the team.
What makes the message, and the messenger, the right one is that both have proven to be effective in practice. When guys have bought in, the offense clicks at an unfathomable level of efficiency. That leads to a defense that can truly be stifling as long as it’s in position.
McMillan has long caught flack for running out entire bench units and, sometimes, sticking with them too long. But the Hawks bench has been one of the best in the NBA since that first game the team was completely healthy, ranking seventh in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage, and second in three-point efficiency.
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A shift of Bogdan Bogdanovic to the bench upon his return from injury has certainly been a boost to that unit’s output.
That was McMillan’s decision.
The head coach can often be seen on the sideline with a stoic demeanor. This is the perfect counter-balance to a team led by fiery personalities like Young, who is fifth in the NBA with 12 technical fouls.
It is time for this team to show the kind of consistency its head coach, and the general manager that stood pat at the trade deadline has exemplified this season. Their second-half schedule may be one of the easiest based on the strength of their schedule. But the Hawks had a habit of playing down to their competition early.
Some may want to put that on McMillan. But when this team has executed his message, they have been successful. That’s all you can ask for from your sideline general.
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It isn’t so much of a surprise after he led the Hawks to the fourth-best record from the point he got hired on and to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. But it is good to have confirmation that they have the right man for the task at hand.