ATLANTA — Between Christmas and New Year’s, word began circulating that Nate McMillan was so thrilled to be coaching these Hawks that he offered to resign. The report was denied by the Hawks and McMillan, but it left its mark. Once a team believes its coach is a lame duck, it ceases to view him as its coach. Why worry about pleasing someone who’s all but gone?
McMillan is out now, for which he should be grateful. What had he done to deserve this gifted-but-mismatched bunch? How many more times could he mention the importance of guarding somebody when his players cared nothing about guarding anybody?
The record will reflect that, in McMillan’s penultimate game in basketball purgatory, his team yielded 144 points on 63.1% shooting to Charlotte, which ranked 30th among 30 NBA teams in offensive efficiency. Two nights later, the Hawks — who should have been eager to wipe the egg off their collective face — yielded 37 first-quarter points to the Knicks. They lost at home by 21 points. It was as if they were trying to get someone fired.
