They were , coming off a record in the previous season, and had just fired their coach Lloyd Pierce. A playoff berth — even in the perpetually less competitive Eastern Conference — seemed unlikely. But to then grab a No. To knock off the top-seeded 76ers in seven games to advance to the conference finals?
Does this remind you of anything, Seattleites? Can you remember a team that was in the cellar early on, made a coaching change, then surged up the standings and stormed through the playoffs? Almost seems like a carbon copy of the Sonics. That team was when Bob Hopkins was fired as coach, then finished after Lenny Wilkens took over.
Not even close. But, pandemic aside, there were other obstacles as well. After working with the starters during April and August practices, McMillan sustained a hand injury that forced him to miss the Montana loss. He returned with a limited role in the loss to Michigan, but failed to catch a pass. McMillan-Haener attended both those games, but decided to sit out the non-conference contest against Arkansas State.
This time around, the Jalen McMillan Experience included 10 catches, receiving yards and his first career touchdown in a win over Arkansas State. It included receptions of 39, 33, 30, 19 and 18 yards. He ran a He had little man speed. He had little man quickness. But it was all in a 6-foot-1 body. So his speed and his ability to separate … is what separates him from the other receivers. But with a solid core in place in the form of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, McMillan and the Blazers eventually put up an excellent record of 54 wins against 28 defeats during the season.
After his long tenure with the Blazers, McMillan took a one year of leave from the NBA before returning to the league to become the associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers in After three seasons, he was again promoted to the top coaching role, and assumed that role for the Pacers for four seasons.
Now that he is coaching a very young Hawks team, McMillan knows that the only way for him to be successful is to be just himself. McMillan also emphasized that he is not yet looking forward to re-signing with the Hawks as their head coach. He says that it is a decision that the Hawks front office will have to make, and that he is just focused on bringing this very young Hawks team to the more important games in the playoffs where they have the chance to make some noise and surprise a lot of teams.
As for the Hawks, there is just no doubt that they still have a lot of work left to do. If they indeed book a coveted ticket to the playoffs this season, they will be one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams among a pack of other elite superstars and veteran squads.
All-Star point guard Trae Young will be the one leading the way as he is currently putting a tremendous stat line of But of course, it is not just Trae who will steer this Hawks team to a potential deep run in the playoffs.
The Hawks are also looking forward to the impact that combo wing stalwart Bogdan Bogdanovic can bring in the playoffs. Even though Bogdanovic is not experienced yet in the playoffs, he is already one of the elder statesmen in this team. The year old long-range gunner is logging in As per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Bogdanovic said that McMillan is more inclined on getting everyone involved and running more plays on the offensive end of the floor.
However, the Hawks have recently suffered a minor setback due to the ankle injury that Trae Young has sustained in their previous game.
He shot his usual effective floater down the lane, but he twisted his left ankle as he landed. With Young sustaining his All-Star caliber performance this season, the Hawks are in a position to enter the playoffs.
Aside from his elite multi-dimensional skill set in terms of scoring, Young is also focusing on always involving his teammates and helping them become better players. Young emphasized the importance of getting his teammates going so that they already have a solid feel on their shots when the game reaches its crucial stages in the decisive fourth quarter.
Young also emphasized that he is not too focused on his scoring anymore, just like he did in the past couple of years. The Hawks will then embark on a tough three-game road trip that will feature games against Jerami Grant and the Detroit Pistons, then a mini two-game series against leading MVP candidate Joel Embiid and the impressive Philadelphia 76ers.
A sports aficionado ever since he first held a basketball, Paul was a student athlete in school and college. Today, he teaches English in university by day and a freelance sportswriter by night.
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