McMillan needs the Hawks as much as the Hawks need him

[MarylandHawk]

The Hawks goals this season was to take the next step and get this developing team to the playoffs this season. After a promising start, the Hawks began to trend in the wrong direction under LP. In steps McMillan, one of the most experienced coaches in the NBA. Now the Hawks are on the path to making he playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Nate will help them do that. However, there is another part to this story, McMillan despite all of his regular season winning has yet to make it out of the first round of the playoffs. The Hawks players need to return the favor to McMillan and push this team past the first round. If that happens, McMillan will be well on his way to a resurgence in his career. 

[Buzzard]

I think this could be a good match for both. This Hawks team could be a offensive juggernaut the likes of which Nate has not coached yet. His defensive mindset and this offensive fire power could be exactly what they both need.

That is my hope!

Edited April 8, 2021 by Buzzard

[kg01]

First of all, his Pacer and Blazer teams never lost a series they were favored to win.  Taking low-talent rosters to the playoffs then losing to the more talented team shouldn't be seen as big as a negative as it apparently is.

Were folks expecting a lOladipo-led Pacers team to oust the Lebron-led Cavaliers?  That they took them to 7 games should be seen as a positive, not a negative.  Was a team "led" by injured-lOladipo and injured-Sabonis supposed to advance in the playoffs last year?

What is this sliding scale his accomplishments are being judged on?  The mental gymnastics Pacer fans go through to convince themselves they're in a better coaching situation now is really, really strange.

Was it time for a change for them?  Actually, one could make a pretty strong case that it wasn't time for a change.  It was time for them to let the team get healthy and to get rid of their "leader" who clearly had a foot out the door all year.

They'd certainly be in a better situation this year under McMillan than they are under the other Nate.  But, since they made a change, they have to convince themselves the sugarless kool-aid tastes good.

[Atlantaholic]

9 hours ago, kg01 said:

First of all, his Pacer and Blazer teams never lost a series they were favored to win.  Taking low-talent rosters to the playoffs then losing to the more talented team shouldn't be seen as big as a negative as it apparently is.

Were folks expecting a lOladipo-led Pacers team to oust the Lebron-led Cavaliers?  That they took them to 7 games should be seen as a positive, not a negative.  Was a team "led" by injured-lOladipo and injured-Sabonis supposed to advance in the playoffs last year?

What is this sliding scale his accomplishments are being judged on?  The mental gymnastics Pacer fans go through to convince themselves they're in a better coaching situation now is really, really strange.

Was it time for a change for them?  Actually, one could make a pretty strong case that it wasn't time for a change.  It was time for them to let the team get healthy and to get rid of their "leader" who clearly had a foot out the door all year.

They'd certainly be in a better situation this year under McMillan than they are under the other Nate.  But, since they made a change, they have to convince themselves the sugarless kool-aid tastes good.

Nate's team's always seem to overachieve. The most talented roster he ever had was the Blazers' team before Roy broke down, and they looked poised to become contenders before that happened. I've never had anything but the utmost respect for Nate and was pretty shocked when we brought him in to be an assistant... definitely got incredibly lucky we could nab him. 

And on topic  of the op, yea, this could end up being Nate's best stint. Whenever (if?) this team can ever get and stay healthy. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Atlantaholic

[TheNorthCydeRises]

15 hours ago, MarylandHawk said:

The Hawks goals this season was to take the next step and get this developing team to the playoffs this season. After a promising start, the Hawks began to trend in the wrong direction under LP. In steps McMillan, one of the most experienced coaches in the NBA. Now the Hawks are on the path to making he playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Nate will help them do that. However, there is another part to this story, McMillan despite all of his regular season winning has yet to make it out of the first round of the playoffs. The Hawks players need to return the favor to McMillan and push this team past the first round. If that happens, McMillan will be well on his way to a resurgence in his career. 

Honestly, it's tough for teams who have been out of the playoffs, to suddenly get back to the playoffs AND win a 1st round series.   

The big thing for us, is to stay in that 4 - 5 slot, to at least give us a 50/50 chance of winning a playoff series.  But if we fall to 6 or below, and have to play either Brooklyn, Philly, or Milwaukee in the 1st round, our chances of winning a series vs those teams are probably less than 20%.

In Nate's case, he's never had a team that was higher than a 3 seed.  And he was the lower seed in most playoff series he's been a part of, which could be a big reason why he lost.

[MarylandHawk]

19 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Honestly, it's tough for teams who have been out of the playoffs, to suddenly get back to the playoffs AND win a 1st round series.   

The big thing for us, is to stay in that 4 - 5 slot, to at least give us a 50/50 chance of winning a playoff series.  But if we fall to 6 or below, and have to play either Brooklyn, Philly, or Milwaukee in the 1st round, our chances of winning a series vs those teams are probably less than 20%.

In Nate's case, he's never had a team that was higher than a 3 seed.  And he was the lower seed in most playoff series he's been a part of, which could be a big reason why he lost.

Yes. It will be a success if we make to and compete in the first round if the playoffs. But if we somehow make it to the second round, that will signal to Schlenk and other GMs that Nate can lead a team to the promised land. He deserves a shot at doing that and this Hawks team is poised to eventually make a run. 

[AHF]

4 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

In Nate's case, he's never had a team that was higher than a 3 seed.  And he was the lower seed in most playoff series he's been a part of, which could be a big reason why he lost.

I think he was a major underdog in every series that he lost.  He coached teams that overachieved in the regular season but when they hit objectively superior opponents in the playoffs they lost.  Can't blame him too much for that, imo.  

[MarylandHawk]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

I think he was a major underdog in every series that he lost.  He coached teams that overachieved in the regular season but when they hit objectively superior opponents in the playoffs they lost.  Can't blame him too much for that, imo.  

The question is, do you think he can coach a fully healthy Hawks 4 seed past a fully healthy Miami 5 seed? 

[bleachkit]

Besides Pop, I cant think of any coach who consistently over achieves. NBA is about talent first and foremost. You can practically set a clock to those Vegas win projections. 

[AHF]

14 hours ago, MarylandHawk said:

The question is, do you think he can coach a fully healthy Hawks 4 seed past a fully healthy Miami 5 seed? 

I think he can but Miami was good enough to make the finals last year and remains a very good team so I use the word "can" there instead of "will."  We will be the underdogs in that hypothetical matchup but I think it is a series that is in play for us and I've definitely not seen enough bad from Nate that I would rule out him being capable of winning that series with us.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Thomas]

4 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Seems like a no brainer to me, a nice contract handed to Nate. Will say believe the Hawks actually do need Nate much, much more than he needs the Hawks (30-25 for example). But just the same glad we are all together right now.

[ATLHawks3]

4 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

If Travis doesn't act fast, I won't be surprised if other teams try to court him. One candidate that I could see pursuing McMillan is Washington. They need someone like McMillan that's going to emphasize them competing on defense and being sharper in their offensive execution. 

[RandomFan]

 

[RedDawg#8]

7 hours ago, Thomas said:

Seems like a no brainer to me, a nice contract handed to Nate. Will say believe the Hawks actually do need Nate much, much more than he needs the Hawks (16-5 for example). But just the same glad we are all together right now.

Fixed it, don't want to sully his record with LP's losing stench lol

[RedDawg#8]

7 hours ago, ATLHawks3 said:

If Travis doesn't act fast, I won't be surprised if other teams try to court him. One candidate that I could see pursuing McMillan is Washington. They need someone like McMillan that's going to emphasize them competing on defense and being sharper in their offensive execution. 

They need him, but I don't think he would jump at another reclamation project when he just had to fix another mans mess in the middle of the busiest season ever.

I bet he would to go to a contender if anything or just stay put. 

[ATLHawks3]

4 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

They need him, but I don't think he would jump at another reclamation project when he just had to fix another mans mess in the middle of the busiest season ever.

I bet he would to go to a contender if anything or just stay put. 

Arguably speaking, he'd have the opportunity to coach two top-20 players in their prime. All they really need to do is have some kind of defensive identity and they'd be in the playoff hunt. 

[kg01]

Nate on Nbaradio just now.  A few notes ..

- Apparently Gary Payton will become HC at Lincoln St in Oakland(?).  Nate acknowledged many thought he'd be coming here but thats not the case.

- Not much has changed, just doing a lot of the same things better.  Still running same plays.

- Focusing on finishing games, doing the little things.  Young teams tend to play the 4th the same as they play the 1st but you gotta make adjustments in the 4th and learn to win.  Put together a full 48 minute game.

- Message delivered after firing?  We all need to look internally, all responsible for him taking the hit.  Point the finger at yourself, look no further than yourself to turn things around.  You gotta do better.

- On Trae's improvement... PG position has changed, scoring more.  Watches film individually and as a group to teach how to manage team.  Have to be an extension of the coach.  Working hard teaching him how to play differently in the 4th.  Can create offense but needs to recognize he has help.  Is capable of doing that.

- Thoughts on his long shots?  I just take a blood pressure pill.  Don't settle for that shot, bails out defense.  Don't want to take his game from him but wants him to understand time/score/situation.  Don't rely on settling for the long ball.   Teams have to honor him out there which helps our offense.  Doesn't want to totally get him off shooting it.

- How do you adjust to guys missing games ... Have to adjust to the times, teams concerned with workloads.  Do a lot if teaching through film.

- Surprised at how well you're playing despite absences?  Didn't even know my record, just take one game at a time.  Hope to get Trae gallo back tomorrow.  If not, its next man up

[JayBirdHawk]

26 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Nate on Nbaradio just now.  A few notes ..

- Apparently Gary Payton will become HC at Lincoln St in Oakland(?).  Nate acknowledged many thought he'd be coming here but thats not the case.

- Not much has changed, just doing a lot of the same things better.  Still running same plays.

- Focusing on finishing games, doing the little things.  Young teams tend to play the 4th the same as they play the 1st but you gotta make adjustments in the 4th and learn to win.  Put together a full 48 minute game.

- Message delivered after firing?  We all need to look internally, all responsible for him taking the hit.  Point the finger at yourself, look no further than yourself to turn things around.  You gotta do better.

- On Trae's improvement... PG position has changed, scoring more.  Watches film individually and as a group to teach how to manage team.  Have to be an extension of the coach.  Working hard teaching him how to play differently in the 4th.  Can create offense but needs to recognize he has help.  Is capable of doing that.

- Thoughts on his long shots?  I just take a blood pressure pill.  Don't settle for that shot, bails out defense.  Don't want to take his game from him but wants him to understand time/score/situation.  Don't rely on settling for the long ball.   Teams have to honor him out there which helps our offense.  Doesn't want to totally get him off shooting it.

- How do you adjust to guys missing games ... Have to adjust to the times, teams concerned with workloads.  Do a lot if teaching through film.

- Surprised at how well you're playing despite absences?  Didn't even know my record, just take one game at a time.  Hope to get Trae gallo back tomorrow.  If not, its next man up

AWESOME stuff!

[RedDawg#8]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theringer.com/platform/amp/nba/2021/4/15/22385033/atlanta-hawks-trae-young-nate-mcmillan

Good read about Coach