Atlanta Hawks Evaluations: Coach Nate McMillan

On March 1, 2021, the Atlanta Hawks parted ways with Lloyd Pierce before naming Nate McMillan his successor. The team rallied around their new leader before going on the greatest postseason run in franchise history. On July 5, the organization rewarded McMillan with a four-year contract.

After a very short offseason, the players entered the 2021-22 season with a palpable sense of complacency. Trae Young took a beating in the media for saying that the regular season was boring, but Clint Capela later admitted the team lacked excitement at the beginning of the season.

While getting multi-millionaire Gen-Z kids to embrace the grind is nearly impossible, it is part of the job for McMillan. The veteran coach and his staff allowed bad habits to take root. For example, the team ranked 26th in defensive rating; they were 16-25 on the road and relied heavily on the idea of flipping the switch late in the season.

Like me in high school, the Hawks calculated the exact amount of effort required to pass and floated through the boring parts. Not only did the Hawks fail to meet their projected over/under win total (47), but they took a step back from last season. The 2020-21 Hawks had a .569% winning percentage, whereas the 2021-22 squad won just .524% of their games. 

Yesterday I praised Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk for the job he did navigating the unprecedented Covid wave. Trae Young became the first Hawks player to enter NBA Health & Safety protocols on December 19. From there, the highly contagious virus spread like wildfire in the locker room. Every player (including some coaches and team personnel) except for De'Andre Hunter eventually tested positive for Covid. 

Despite 13 Hawks players being in the protocols at the same time, no games were postponed due to the Hawks' players' absences. This forced Travis Schlenk to sign a slew of G-League players and free agents to 10-day contracts. At one point, the Hawks had the largest roster in NBA history.

McMillan and his staff deserve recognition for keeping the ship afloat during such rocky waters. The only reason why McMillan's grade isn't as high as Schlenk's for his handling of the Covid wave is the lack of playing time for rookies, which leads me to my next point.

Late December would have served as the perfect time for rookies Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper to get some on-the-job experience. The team was shorthanded, and they had a few months of familiarizing themselves with the Hawks' systems.

Unfortunately, both players only got a handful of minutes before being placed in NBA Health & Safety Protocols just before and after Christmas Day. But regardless of the missed opportunity in December, the Hawks were not good enough this season to forsake playing their rookies. Turn on the Playoffs, and you will see rookies contributing to contending teams.

I have written extensively about the historically-low minutes played by Johnson and Cooper. Looking back on it, how much did the Hawks benefit by prioritizing the playing time of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Lou Williams over the rookies?

After a loss in Boston on March 1, Trae Young said, "You put us in a series versus anybody, and we get to really analyze you and stuff like that. I feel like it's going to be tough to beat us, and we're not just an easy out."

Not only were the Hawks an easy out, but they did little preparation for the Heat series. Before entering a playoff series, a coaching staff must have plans A through Z ready for any scenario. 

To the surprise of no one, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra made Young the focal point of his defensive effort and effectively took him out of the series. The Hawks made few adjustments and allowed the series to slip away in five games.

Young compared the series to a chess match with Spoelstra. Unfortunately, no in comparing McMillan to IBM's Deep Blue computer. McMillan's lack of creativity and counter-moves, combined with his perceived contempt for using challenges with the season on the line earns him this barely-passing grade.

Barring an explosive turn of events this summer, McMillan's job is safe. However, just as the players have to improve this offseason, so does the Hawks coaching staff. They can never afford to repeat their embarrassing mistakes of the Heat series.