Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hawks fire coach in midst of Heat series
In the middle of a two-game series against the Miami Heat, the Atlanta Hawks on Monday fired coach Lloyd Pierce, the day after his team stumbled Sunday night to a 109-99 loss at American-Airlines Arena.
Less than 18 hours after an Atlanta fourth-quarter rally fell short against the Heat, leaving the Hawks with their 11th loss in their past 15 games, general manager Travis Schlenk announced the move in a statement.
“We would like to thank Lloyd for his work and commitment to not only the Hawks organization but the city of Atlanta,” Schlenk said. “He and his wife, Melissa, are tremendous people who have made a positive impact throughout the city. We have high expectations for our team on the court and we believe by making this change now that we can have a strong second half of the season.”
The previous night, Pierce had spoken of his team rebounding in Tuesday night’s game against the Heat from Sunday’s loss.
“Well the summary of the night was we didn’t make shots,” Pierce said in the immediate wake of the loss that dropped his injury-depleted team to 14-20. “[The Heat] gives up the most threes in the NBA. We had our guys shooting it and we get some poor shooting nights from three guys that we need shooting the basketball. It really came back to us down the stretch.
“We had some looks, a crucial turnover at one point by Trae [Young] on the lob against the zone, but it really just came down to us making those shots. We didn’t shoot well in a game that they were going to give us open looks and they were going to give us looks with the guys that we need shooting the basketball.”
Prior to the loss, Pierce had been effusive about the resurgent play of the Heat, who made it six consecutive victories with Sunday’s result.
“The beauty of their team is team,” Pierce said, “the culture of which they pride themselves on, the way they play. They’re one of the top teams in off-ball movement. They’re one of the top teams in assisted field goals.
“They’ve done a tremendous job in rallying in the storm of injuries and COVID and protocol early in the season to get where they are.”
Pierce went 63-120 in his two-plus seasons as Hawks coach, hired in the 2018 offseason. He is the second NBA coach dismissed this season, with the Minnesota Timberwolves last week firing Ryan Saunders.
Nate McMillan, who was dismissed as Indiana Pacers coach after being swept by the Heat in the first round of last season’s playoffs, is expected to step in for Pierce. McMillan was added as a Hawks assistant in the offseason.