Nate The Great: Coach of the Year?

Nate McMillan has the Atlanta Hawks cruising right now in the Eastern Conference and it seems like he’s only just getting started, as he should be the leading candidate for Coach of the Year.

During the season, including the three-game span when he coached the team when former head coach Lloyd Pierce was unavailable, the Hawks have had a 17-6 record. 

Nate McMillan with the Atlanta Hawks. (Nell Redmond)

Since March, however, when McMillan has implemented his schemes and game plan, the team has looked completely different. \

We have seen so many players contribute on offense and get into a rhythm over this span that was not present before. McMillan’s system on offense is predicated on ball movement and player movement and not just star power. As it seemed at times the ball was sticking with Trae Young which caused friction with Young and John Collins earlier in the season.

The Hawks have been beating all the teams they are supposed to and some they aren’t and most importantly, they aren’t blowing fourth-quarter leads which was an issue under Pierce.  

Some numbers to back up that claim that the Hawks have turned around their fourth quarter woes since March first where they have ranked first in fourth-quarter net rating and seventh in net rating overall.

Over this stretch, the Hawks haven’t been beating the best teams in the league by any margin but these were the same games and teams that the Hakes were losing early on in the season. In a league of 30 teams, you can tell a good team from a bad team on if they can beat teams they should.

McMillan’s system has opened up the floor and allowed shooters and many players to thrive. Players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari have been really big as of late by making teams pay for helping off Trae on a rolling big in the pick and roll. Another big thing has been the role players stepping up the last two games as arguably the team’s best two players, Collins and Young, did not play against the Hornets and Raptors and the Hawks still were able to come out on top for both games.

Trae has seen improvement as a floor general under McMillan as he isn’t trying to force passes or shots now as the offense runs smoothly through him. Even when he’s not on the floor he has helped to run things when he sits down and takes a breather. The scheme is helping these players get more opportunities to score and make the best of their games and they’re taking full advantage of it.

To put things into perspective this streak has all been without De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Collins and Kris Dunn for the most part and the Hawks still have been finding ways to win. As the Hawks are one of three teams that have lost the most men to injuries during the season and are still are currently sitting at 30-25 on the year, being fourth in the East over teams like Boston, Miami and New York allow the Hawks to have  an outside chance of catching the Milwaukee Bucks who are sitting at the third seed currently with a record of 34-20.

With players like Brandon Goodwin, Solomon Hill and Nathan Knight getting minutes that they likely wouldn't if everybody was healthy, giving the team good value with their time on the court.

If this team gets fully healthy when the playoffs roll around they will be a tough out for any opponent if they keep playing the way they are. 

This team has the potential to upset one of the favorites in the East if they get the right matchup.