There reportedly is a new sheriff in town as the Atlanta Hawks attempt to turn their season around.
Atlanta announced Monday it had parted ways with head coach Lloyd Pierce, ending his three-year tenure with the team.
Nate MacMillan will fill in in the interim, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 14-20 Hawks currently sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with just two games left before the All-Star break. Atlanta has lost 11 of its last 15 games.
But MacMillan, who joined the team as an assistant coach this offseason, could be just the guy to help them turn things around.
The 56-year-old sports a 667-591 lifetime record as an NBA head coach. He has led teams like the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers across a 16-year span.
Pierce, meanwhile, went just 63-120 with the Hawks. Atlanta missed the playoffs both times it were eligible under his direction.
Hopefully for the Hawks, MacMillan will be a breath of fresh air. If so, teams (especially in the East) should be wary of how dangerous this team could become -- assuming the injury issues are dealt with, of course.
For now, though, the team is a work in progress. But there's still plenty of time between now and the play-in tournaments to make some serious improvements.
