Hawks coach Pierce out, McMillan in
Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce was fired Monday, less than halfway into a season that began with heightened expectations but was beset by injuries.
The Hawks named assistant Nate McMillan interim coach. McMillan, added in the offseason, is 661-588 as a coach with Seattle, Portland and Indiana.
The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the East after a 109-99 loss at Miami on Sunday, their 11th loss after holding a fourth-quarter lead.
Hawks President Travis Schlenk said he and his staff made the decision Monday morning.
“I just felt like we needed a new voice to take the next step,” Schlenk said in a videoconference.
Pierce, hired in 2018, was 63-120, missing the playoffs in his first two seasons. It was his first job as a head coach; he was previously an assistant. McMillan filled in and won two of three games when Pierce was recently away from the team while his wife gave birth.
Schlenk said he timed the move to help the team have a second-half resurgence and make the playoffs.
“Our goal was to have progress this year to move forward,” he said. “We just felt that wasn’t happening as quickly as we wanted.”
The Hawks last appeared in the playoffs in 2017. The team has rebuilt around guard Trae Young and forward John Collins and added veterans Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn and Clint Capela.
Dunn has yet to play, recovering from ankle surgery. Bogdanovic has missed 25 games, DeAndre Hunter 16 and Gallinari nine.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said he was “really shocked” and “really disappointed” for Pierce.
“I just talked to him, I want to say five days ago,” Rivers said. “He just had a brand-new baby. This is a tough business, boy. It’s tough. I’ve always thought it was really difficult in a rebuild. Most of the rebuilds unfortunately go the way of Lloyd Pierce. You’re in the middle of the rebuild and then you blame the coach for the losses that you had no chance to win.”
Etc.
Toronto’s game against Detroit on Tuesday was postponed until Wednesday because of virus issues.