Nate McMillan made his debut as the Atlanta Hawks interim head coach on Tuesday and immediately picked up his first victory. After the game, he shared his vision for his team.
Per Hawks reporter Kevin Chouinard, McMillan said that he wants his team to have the qualities of a fist.
More McMillan:
"We talk about being a fist. The tighter the fist, the easier it is to knock someone out."
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) March 3, 2021
McMillan quickly displayed his head coaching chops in the Hawks' dominant win over the Miami Heat, 94-80. It was a balanced effort from the Hawks squad as five players scored in double-digits. Trae Young led all scorers with 18 points to go along with 10 assists. John Collins was right behind him with 17 points and seven rebounds.
McMillan took on the head coaching duties after the Hawks decided to part ways with Lloyd Pierce, the team's head coach since 2018. The Hawks started the season with a 14-20 start — not exactly an ideal win-loss record, but something that is very salvageable. As such, it surprised the NBA community including the likes of San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. For McMillan, it was simply unfortunate that they had to lose Pierce.
“Losing Coach Pierce, we had to do better … He took a hit because we weren't doing the things that we were supposed to be doing out there,” McMillan said.
It's still a matter of wait-and-see if the Hawks promote McMillan as their head coach, but he's not unfamiliar with the job. McMillan has a prior coaching history with the Seattle Supersonics, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Indiana Pacers. He entered Tuesday's game with 1,249 games as head coach and a .529 winning percentage.
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