Stars always get their way in the NBA. For the Atlanta Hawks that's a good thing.
Yes, it's playoffs or bust for the Hawks, and no one wants to hear about injuries. There was plenty of dysfunction in the Hawks halfcourt offense when De'Andre Hunter was out there. The Hawks invested heavily in some older free agents and so far the only thing we have to show for it is a new franchise 3-point record. Some are left to guess if a healthy full squad could've saved Lloyd Pierce's job. Management wasn't gonna wait to find out. They feel as I do that there's still enough talent on this team to be better than this.
There's too much talent to have a lead in the fourth quarter to repeatedly blow leads.
The way Coach Pierce used or misused Clint Capela late was driving me nuts. I get it, he's 55 percent from the stripe and you want to avoid Slap-a-Cap. But he's the best rim protector you have. Who ever saw a team win a game on a next-to-last possession slam dunk? Exactly. The Hawks were finding new and exciting ways to blows games each week under Pierce.
That 112-111 loss to the Cavs happened in part becuz Trae Young took a shot with way too much time on the clock, which allowed Cleveland to beat us with the flush.
Trae Young has to be better than this. The last few weeks at times it looks like The Monstars from Space Jam have taken his skills. His reported strained relationship with Lloyd Pierce obviously carried a lot of weight in the decision to fire the coach (more on that below).
All the best point guards have that innate ability to know just when to step on the gas. When to facilitate and when to dominate. We've seen Trae look like a superstar in this league. We've seen him have monster nights with plenty of huge deep 3s and slashes to the basket.
Lately when his floater isn't working things go south. In the loss to Miami Trae couldn't even get alley-oop passes in the same zip code as Collins or Capela.
Is he's distracted? Is he frustrated with the strategy, the coaching?
If Trae didn't believe in Lloyd Pierce you wonder who else in that locker room wasn't buying in.
I'm sure John Collins isn't happy his contract didn't get done. The infamous team meeting earlier in the year was supposed to clear the air. Why then on nights Collins gets his, Trae drifts off into the twilight zone, or vice versa?
Some Hawks fans still don't believe in Trae. I call shenanigans on that. He has all the skills. But he was backsliding under Pierce. Nate McMillan will have to find a way to get these guys on the same page every night. And in part re-establish that Trae was worth taking over Luka.
Because if he can't, the next guy to get fired is Travis Schlenk. This is his plan. Trae and JC are the bedrock it's supposed to be built on. Cam Reddish can be the X-factor (and validate the trade with Dallas), but right now he's still too inconsistent. De'Andre Hunter has become the glue guy. The Hawks need to at least play .500 ball until he's back. All indications were that was never going to happen with Lloyd Pierce.
When you blow 11 fourth-quarter leads you need two hands to point fingers. But ya can't fire the whole team even if a third of the team is in street clothes. It wasn't passing the eye test.
And just as I was turning in this blog, The Athletic's Chris Kirschner reports that the relationship between Trae Young and Lloyd Pierce was beyond toxic. That Coach did not have his star's back in comments that got back to him and his treatment the past few seasons. So the Hawks made the right move.