Lloyd Pierce is Out as Atlanta Hawks Head Coach

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Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.

The Hawks are not letting Lloyd Pierce see this through as they let him go on Monday.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images.)

Lloyd Pierce was fired as head coach by the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

It’s not unusual that this kind of move happens but it doesn’t make it any more baffling. The team takes a slide after a bunch of injuries and the head coach takes the fall.

Atlanta is currently 14-20. Yes, they’re currently out of the playoff picture but it’s not like they’re hopeless. The season isn’t even halfway through yet and the Hawks are only 1.5 games out of the 10th spot (still trying to get used to this). I get that the front office’s mandate is to make the postseason but it’s not like they’re far away from that, either. They can still have a chance of that by May.

It may have been the blown fourth quarter leads. Hawks have blown 11 games in the fourth. That’s definitely a difference between being over .500 and getting axed by a somewhat impatient front office.

But again, let’s take a look at the situation here. Bogdan Bogdanovic was the big acquisition for them but he’s only played in 9 games because of a right knee fracture. Rajon Rondo has missed nearly half the season with his own injury. Kris Dunn has not played at all. Danilo Gallinari has missed 12 games with a few injuries of his own and his mobility hasn’t been great. The big one has been De’Andre Hunter. Ever since he went down, the Hawks have missed him; Atlanta has gone 4-11.

Nate McMillan (the veteran coach who has made stops in Seattle, Portland, and Indiana) will be taking over on an interim basis. He’ll probably do better once the roster gets healthier. This is why we think this was mostly an unfair firing.

A big example was Michael Malone in Sacramento. The Kings got off to a 9-5 start. DeMarcus Cousins would then miss games. Sacramento would go 2-7 without him. Malone ended up taking the fall. He’d end up taking the Denver Nuggets job the season after. The man would help the Nuggets go to the Western Conference Finals last year.

Coaches have a shorter leash more so than players. But sometimes, you just gotta give these younger guys a chance. Lloyd Pierce will be back on the NBA sidelines sooner than later.

Bullet Passes

Speaking of Denver, Nikola Jokic went off yet again to the tune of 39-14-9. The Nuggets are still 7th in the West and it’s honestly hard to get momentum going in an unusual season like this.

The Pelicans scored the upset on the Utah Jazz. They certainly weren’t afraid to take it to the Jazz defense; New Orleans shot .542 in two-pointers and scored 74 points in the paint.

We’ve been harping on the Pelicans’ potential this season. This game against Utah was a great example of what they CAN do.

The Spurs closed the fourth quarter with 10 straight points, which ended in this wacky sequence.

Collin Sexton went off for 39 points as the Cavs defeated the Rockets.

Two teams going the opposite directions here. Cleveland has won four straight to get themselves back near the playoff picture. Houston has lost 12 straight games and are nearly a sure thing for the lottery.

The Hornets/Blazers game was so Melo, y’all.

LaMelo Ball went for 30-6-8 while Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points off the pine. Portland took the win here.

Also…

When were they allowed to swap jerseys again?

NBA Scoreboard

Mar. 1, 2021

Watch This Play

The now-22-year-old Luka Doncic does it again.

I always appreciate them dimes.

Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.

You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.

You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.

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